Testimonials

Letters We Have Received from Some of Our Customers

Scott,

I mean I cannot even express how unbelievable this guitar sounds and plays. I recieved it yesterday. The sustain on this thing is beyond rediculous. Are you sure there isn't a preamp if there is let me know so I at least know to change the battery. I have an Eric Clapton Strat and this guy blows it away on sound and playability all day long. The paint job I love it. The neck is worth every penny with the upgrade. How awesome is this headstock. I have played good looking guitars but this plays actually better than its overall beautiful appearance. Use me as a reference please. Lastly I cannot express the gratitude I have for your professionalism. We had a problem with the truss rod and I am the one who tried to force it. However you went above and beyond making it right.

Thank you
Andrew Ferruche

Ed,

Back in Spain, landed a few hours ago.

First of all, thanks for the royal treatment and the sound advice on
the whole process of ordering my custom guitar. As an international
business strategy consultant I appreciate professional business
engagement and I can tell you, you have been behaving nothing short
of amazing the whole time.
Maybe someone could perceive gruffness where I just perceive a
no-nonsense approach and an utmost respect to serious players and
collectors. You can make my words public, I think your degree of
service is sadly a lost art.
Just wanted to check if the whole wire transfers were in order and
if everything is on place. I would appreciate if the process is
going to take some time, some pictures being taken of the process in
order to appreciate the subtleties of how everything was done.
Best and thanks again,

Javier G. Recuenco
CEO

Quicksilver Diamond Plate Guitar
By Ed Roman

Dear Ed,

I've realized I've been a viewer of your website off and on for a
number of years. I finally felt intrigued to write you directly and
express my gratitude for your insight of the guitar & music
industry. I've been a player for 25 years now (I'm 35) and have had
my fair share of gear over the years. My primary focus was usually
on playing and was never too up to date on guitar building or tone
woods. After reading much of your rants & comparisons, I've really
taken a closer look at my guitars. Yes Sir! You are correct, the big
boys can certainly do way better in their production of what they
call "top of the line models" especially for what they are charging.
I never really knew all of the tonal issues between bolt-on,
set-neck & neck-thru guitars. Never knew anything about the
difference between spring loaded pickups or those set to the body
directly. So thank you Ed for the great information, your
Quicksilver & Centurion
lines look fantastic. I hope to save my pennies for one. Best wishes
to you and your staff.
Regards,
Richard Sammet
Scottsdale, AZ
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Ever since I stumbled onto your site, especially the rants
section, I have found myself putting your deprogramming lessons into
practice with everything I see (not just with guitars). I feel like
you have taught me a lot of things that should have been included in
my college education that came to a close this past May.

I have been slowly purchasing parts over the past few months as I
can afford them (student loans are real F**kers). But once I am down
to the needs of a body blank and basic electronics, (and someone to
build it) I will be giving you a call to come out and look at some
wood for a neck, body, and finger board (that Kokarado [Laotian
Striped] looks awesome, but how does it sound?), and pick an
Abstract body style.

I know you are not too keen about people rattling on about there
dream guitar after implying that wont be buying soon, but I already
purchased a Hamer sustainer bridge from you and hope to buy form you
again soon.

Christopher Freeman
Rush NY

Letter From Chris
Cunningham
Chris Has 3 Ed Roman Guitars So Far

Well Ed, I've been playing the
Abstract Prodigy
almost non-stop for about 48 hours now and it's still hard to put
down. I think you may have outdone yourself this time. I understand
now why you're so crazy about Macassar Ebony as a neck wood. It
feels as solid as granite and the sustain is unreal. It just keeps
singing.

I'm also including a pic of all the guitars you've sent me so far. I
know collectors have their place in the world but I'm not a
collector, I'm a player. I can see now that playing that first
guitar I bought from you was like taking that red pill in the The
Matrix -- there's no going back. A guitar made in a factory and
covered with polyurethane feels like a toy to me now.

When I put the palm of my left hand on the neck of one of your
guitars and feel the natural finish of a 1500G neck treatment, it's
like taking that first breath of oxygen after having been underwater
for days. Keep up the good work and I'm sure it won't be too long
before you hear from me again.

Thanks, Ed.
They did a nice job and I love my new guitar!!!
Your organization is excellent and I thank you for a beautiful product.
Dan Wopperer
Rochester NY

Corky Laing, Leslie West, Richie Scarlet

Letter From TED NUGENT

WOW!

Killer shit sir! My fave is the 1 on the 2nd link, 1st guitar pic,
beauty made by you in 2005. How bout we go with that, but more body
shape like the 1 u made me with derringer in back, & lets put
another derringer in this 1!!

YIKES you sure make phenomenal lookin guitars sir! SALUTE!

Ted Nugent

Hey
Guys...
Thanks for the email....my lefty
Quicksilver is the talk of
the town. Here's a picture of it when I appeared on stage at
Cruefest this past August with Motley Cure and Godsmack. So....what
do you have lefty that's on sale??? I may be interested in adding to
my collection

Steve Lane
Raleigh, NC

Steve Lane Of Effigy (Photo At
Crue-Fest)

Quicksilver's are popping up quite a bit on stage"Pro Musicians Demand The Best"

Dear Ed:

I have been a reader of you website for almost eight years. I admire
your opinions on the internet, and I wish you continue to speak of
what you believe in. Everyone has their opinions -- you are just
more verbose about them. It's a pity many people disagree with you.
Your points are argued with solid facts and experiences, and yet,
people still won't escape their delusional fantasy and admit to
valid (and highly important) critiques you you present the world --
which would otherwise never be
heard.

It's sad that collective hate is such a high motivator in today's
society. Keep up the good work and promoting you knowledge --
the public needs it.

Darren
Wisconsin

Ed

Just got the
Rockingbird. It exceeded my
highest expectations. It's Beautiful
You weren't kidding about the neck I can't put it down, What kind of
pickups are those, They kick ass !!!!

I was a little apprehensive at first because of some bullshit I
read on the internet but I think they are just a bunch of jealous
competitors because the quality of this guitar is stellar.

I have owned over 50 guitars and this one is as good as I have
ever owned, The neck is slimmer and faster than my Jackson

I realize you are busy, So I won't keep yappin'
about this, but I just had to thank you for fulfilling my dream of
having the worlds best guitar.

Take care, I will be ordering another one with a
maple matching neck and no trem !!!!

Phil Demme
Morton Grove, Illinois

Hey Ed,

Thanks for taking the time to field my numerous questions and supply
me with solid answers. Despite what I'm sure is a busy schedule you
took great care and time to insure I would make an informed purchase
in the future. From my perspective that saves me money and
guarantees I will get the most for my hard-earned dollars. I look
forward to doing business with you.
Kindest regards,

Mr. Lea MacDonald.

Donny Osmond &
Steve LeeSteve is Las Vegas' Premiere Hired Gun.
Steve Lee Has Played With Almost Every Major Show To Hit Vegas Since
The Dawn Of Time.
His Number One Player Is His
Quicksilver 10th Anniversary Macassar
Neck Guitar.

Currently The Donny & Marie Show Is Probably The Best All Around
Show In Vegas.
Sadly The Show Draws An Older Branson Type Crowd But That Doesn't
Diminish The Show At All.If You Love Music, All Kinds Of Music
This Most Excellent Show Will Amaze You !!!

Hello Scott & Ed

The
Quicksilver #1661 came in this
morning and I wanted to write you and tell you how incredibly happy
I am with it.

First of all, I didn't go to work today I stayed home to play
with my new toy.

When I pulled it out of the case I was so excited and anxious to
play it, I clumsily dropped it and it hit the floor making a
horrible sound. I got panicked and immediately took it to my local
guitar tech at Stanton Music.
Luckily there was nothing wrong but I had him take the cavity covers
off and check the electronics. They were all very impressed with the
magnetic cavity covers. In fact they all really loved the
guitar, I had to tear it out of the hands of their guitar
salesman hee hee .

They had advised me against buying the guitar in the first place,
they ate crow that day let me tell you.

I played the guitar into the night and you were right about the
finger fatigue, usually my hands hurt if I play that much. With this
guitar I felt as if I could play all night..

Thanks again for being so patient with me on the phone, I almost
bought a
PRS now that I have played them both I am incredibly happy
that I made the decision to buy The
Quicksilver.
I saved almost $500.00 plus $316.00 sales tax in total cost and the
Quicksilver came with a nicer top, nicer color and more options. You
have made me a believer! Please use my name as a reference, I
will gladly recommend you guys to anyone.
I had read some derogatory statements on the internet so maybe I was
being over cautious by asking so many questions.
This guitar is less than 24 hours old and I am sure I will be using
it as my main player guitar. I will be in touch for another one as
soon as my wife lets me !!!!

Thanx so very very much

Audie Murphy Jr.
Georgia

Hi Ed,

Well, my new
Tacoma guitar arrived right on
schedule on Friday, packed extremely well,
completely safe and sound and working perfectly. I
know that because I've been playing it all weekend -
it's great! The sound is truly beautiful -
perfectly harmonic sounds, bright, wonderful. And,
given he magnificent woods used throughout, as you
well know it looks great. It nearly plays itself,
and while at the moment it's a better guitar than I
am a guitar player, with this terrific guitar, a
little time will take care of that. Thanks for the
strap, as well; my British friends will be
especially happy with the free-form Union Jack
design. (I guess I'll have to play plenty of
Beatles music with it....)

While it wasn't cheap, real quality almost never is;
the guitar is well worth the money and the buying
experience was easy, quick, and as advertised.

Somehow I think I'll be back for another guitar...
or two, from you, Ed. Thanks again!

I just picked up my guitar last night from UPS, and all I can
say is it's gorgeous! The inlays surpassed my expectations and are
the perfect finishing touch. The blue top finish is breathtaking. I
haven't plugged it in yet because I didn't want to disturb my
neighbors and I didn't trust myself to keep it at a reasonable
volume, but playing it unplugged it fits perfectly in my hands and
against my body.

The one and only problem I have is that the toggle switch looks to
be broken. it switches from one pickup to the other, but it wiggles
loosely in it's socket. To explain the problem: at the base of the
stem that sits in the body of the guitar there are two side pins
that allow the switch to pivot. One of the pivot pin sides looks
like it isn't held in place, and no amount of finagling will "click"
it back into a place where it no longer moves only the way it
should. So, it is operational, but not ideal.

Thanks again for the incredible guitar, and sorry to dampen the
lauds with a complaint.

I am otherwise incredibly happy with this guitar - Jeff you do
amazing work, and Ed - you sure know how to pick 'em

I've been a custom electric guitar builder for the last 10 years. I
am now getting ready to leave my day job and do it professionally. I
just wanted to tell you, that I consider your site and company the
only current creative guitar mfg out there right now. You are taking
your time to help a very small group of consumers. And we are very
thankful for all your company has done.

Thanks.
Jim Hetzer

Ed

This
Quicksilver guitar is even better than my
Centurion and it cost $4,000.00 less, I know, I know that's what you
said !! Frankly I wasn't sure I believed you when you told me
it was a better player and it sounded more versatile. How come
it's so much less money? I thought I loved the Centurion and I
probably still do but $4,000.00 cheaper is a lot of money.
I just want an explanation !!!!!

Arne Ducille

Hello Arne

There should be no surprise here !!!
I told you when you ordered the Centurion that it was my
flagship model and I also told you that your money would have been
better spent on the
Quicksilver.
When you received the Centurion you were ecstatic, So much so that
you have bought 2 more guitars from me both less expensive but both
boutique models. (Your first letter is
somewhere down on this very page).
The Quicksilver is a team built guitar, Four people build the
Quicksilver.
The Centurion is one man from beginning to end except the paint.
The construction method of the Centurion is very hard to do
The Quicksilver is relatively simple by comparison.
They both employ the exact same hardware electronics & pickups.

But as I said then and as I say now the
Quicksilver wins because of it's unique exclusive neck joint fitting
with the pickup tied into the neck. coupled with a several other
facts !!!!

The same is true for
PRS &
Gibson
I believe a
PRS $2,195.00 24 FRET bolt on CE Model will sound
noticeably better than their $3,600.00 custom or even their
$40,000.00 Dragon. I also believe that an $850.00 Les Paul Junior
flat top guitar with soapbar pickups will sound better than a
$3,900.00 59 reissue Les Paul or some $27,000.00 guitar out of their
custom shop.

Gibson has sadly discontinued their lower cost Les Paul Junior
the closest thing to it I have seen is the RVC Mojoman or Woodstock
Model... It does cost more than the
Gibson but it's handmade from
200 year old mahogany or Korina (Click
Here To See Them)

Making bold statements like that are
why I get criticized on the web over and over!!!!

People don't want to hear that.
It simply does not sound true.
I mean, How could it be true???
People will say that I am the worlds biggest A-hole over & over
!!!Especially people who have been suckered into
buying those overpriced cookie cutter production made guitars.

BUT I CAN PROVE IT AND I HAVE OVER & OVER
AGAIN !!!!!!

In 15 years of being on the web not one person has ever written me
even one logical letter stating why I am wrong. They will
write & call me names, they will go on those silly forums and insult
me and even my family. (always anonymously)
But they never once have sent me any real pertinent data why the
more expensive model sounds better.

I want to clarify that this is not just a matter of my opinion, I
will gladly sit down for 10 minutes with any reasonably intelligent
person and show them why I say what I say. Every time I actually do
sit down with a doubting Thomas they generally get real quiet
towards the end of the conversation. I can make you a believer but
you have to open your ears and your mind. Hard to do in this
brainwashed society.

Companies Like
Gibson,
PRS etc hate my guts for saying this, they
know full well what I am talking about !! they wish I would shut my
trap.

Everyone today knows that the Japanese guitars that
Fender made
in the 90's were better than the
American Standards, Deluxe Plus's
etc and the were less than 1/3 the price.
Fender actually stopped
importing Japanese guitars & went to Mexico because the $289.00
Japanese guitars were starting to cut into their main cash cow the
American Standard. The quality difference was astounding !!!!Fender today is making some great guitars but in my opinion the
American Standard is not one of them!!!!
Most people just don't know what to look for. They simply figure if
they pay more it's got to be better.
Maybe in the good old days but certainly not today. Today we
have all those college educated marketing dweebs that sit in their
ivory towers and come up with ways to trick you out of your money.

If you don't believe me check your bank account, hey where'd the
money go !!!! It's already too late, these big corporations
have sucked everyone dry and then gone to China to make it cheaper
and sell it for more.

When I worked for
Gibson the Motto & Slogan was.
"If we charge the most people will assume we
are the best."

That's BS & total hypocrisy. I myself worked at
Gibson and
those exact words came directly out of the mouth of the owner & CEO
of Gibson. Henry Juszkiewicz himself.

If this wasn't 100% true I could
be sued out of business for writing it here!!!!!

Hey this is becoming dangerously close to becoming a full fledged
rant!!!!!!

Hi There,
Thanks for the update. My friend loves his
JET Guitar that I bought
for him several years ago. If ever I need to buy another guitar,
your site would be the first place I would go to.
Keep up the good work.
All My Best,
Ron Pizzi

Yo Ed

Thanks for the advice on the
Black/Back Pickups, I always liked
Seymour Duncans, You were
right on target. These pickups are really monsters. I installed them
exactly the way you explained to me and I must say I was really
happy with the flexibility of the tonal range. Will they make
my SG sound better also, I use it as my spare guitar but lately I
have been thinking about getting another
Quicksilver as my backup
guitar.
When you get a chance please call me and I promise I will either get
another Quicksilver or an LSR .
Like I really need another guitar LOL your guitars are addicting. My
wife hates you more all the time!!!
I really love the Duesenberg
and it gets the best Keith Richards sound I have ever gotten from
any guitar even the
Quicksilver. What kind Of deal can I get
on 8 sets of
Black/backs , I am putting them in everything except my
Duesenberg and my
Gretsch.
William "Willie Wonka" Walcott
Milwaukee WI.

PS
You were right about the sustain too. Fucking Incredible,
Almost like a Sustainiac.
Wonka

Hey Ed,
Nice addition with the neck video.
I realize your fan-base has a love-hate relationship with you. I'll
tell you a story sometime. Something about don't mention Roman's
name because he has a bad rep. -email... Flame time from me.
I, personally like your no-BS approach and I am proud to let people
know I have personal interaction with you and the pieces I have
acquired from you.
I purchased a
BC Rich Gunslinger neck from you today. I didn't
realize it was you I was talking to until I asked. I am glad I did
because I prefer doing business with "the man." You have always
taken care of me, Ed. Not just advice and recommendations.

I had a chip taken out of the horn of my
Mockingbird when it
was shipped back to me UPS from your shop after doing a fret-job
late '90s. You took care of everything and said up front your goal
was to get UPS to pay for the guitar and let me keep it. That's
exactly what happened. I took the chip and super-glued it back in
place.

Ed, you have a style a person either hates or loves. To the haters?
Fuck 'em. I apologize for my candor, but you know...

Thanks,
Steve Purcell

"Scott Ian With Pearl"

Ed Roman Himself, As
A Real Person.

By Dan E.

I've spent many
hours on the phone
with Ed. Unless you
have some background
or experience with a
true luthier, it's
hard for him to
explain why he does
what he does and
hard to soak it in
as a novice or a
pro. You don't get
to Pro status
without going
through the novice
part first. There is
no confusion about
his knowledge and
long time education
which obviously
effects his sales
style. One of his
strongest points is
his personality.

He'll tell you like
it is and he doesn't
give a damn if you
buy his guitars or
not. I love that.
You can tell you are
getting honest
information if you
like it or not, and
it's genuinely
honest. If I'm
handing over a
favorite guitar to
Ed for 10 months to
a year, I'm not
nervous, scared or
freaked out to do it
in a heartbeat.

I plan to take him a
LP for his magic to
be preformed and
will wait however
long it takes. I've
learned more about
his approach to
custom work and if
Billy Gibbons and
the like are happy,
guess what. I know I
can't go wrong. See
you in January ED!

Posted 11/02/08

THIS IS NOT A
TESTIMONIAL BUT IT
IS INTERESTING

This email
correspondence might
wake somebody up
Read it and see what
you think !!!

Potential Customer
Inquires About The
Price Of This
Quicksilver Avanti &
Ed Responds.
Ed Normally does not
respond with such a
long letter !! Customer is
from New Zealand so
Ed makes an
exception

Hello Ed
How Much Does The
Cocobolo Quicksilver
Avanti With The
Macassar Ebony Neck
Cost. Including
Shipping To New
Zealand.

Barry Jenkins

Hello Barry

$5,000.00 to your
door in New Zealand
total cost..

Prepay by wire
transfer and we will
ship immediately
Ed

Hello Ed

Bearing in mind
the price of a new
Gibson Les Paul,
I guess that price
is realistic.
I'll think seriously
about this. I take
it we are talking US
dollars ??
Regards
Barry Jenkins

Hello Barry

Yes We Are Talking
US Dollars...

Please be aware that
a
Gibson Les Paul
is not even a close
comparison
The construction is
completely different
to say nothing of
the fact that the
Gibson is primarily
built entirely by
CNC Machines & then
assembled in the
USA.

The Gibson is one of
millions
The Guitar you are
asking about is one
of a kind

The Gibson is made
on machines by
people who are not
even necessarily
guitar players.
The Quicksilver
Avanti is hand built
one at a time and
ONE person built the
whole guitar
excepting for the
finish which is done
separately.

You get a signed
certificate of
Authenticity with
the Quicksilver, It
is sold as an art
form and a guitar.

The Gibson is
nothing more than a
tool.. A
Heavy, Cumbersome,
Outdated, Old
School, Tool with
only one good sound
!!!!
Les Paul Guitars Are
For People Who Are
Too Stubborn To Look
At Anything New Or
Better... I liken
Gibson to a Harley
Davidson ,,, and
their players to
uninformed people.

I myself have ridden
a Harley for 41
years
(The Same One)
but I
am keenly aware that
it's actually a
piece of Crap
compared to BMW,
Moto Guzzi, Honda,
Yamaha & most of the
new companies like
Victory and all the
small chopper
builders out there,
I
Would Never Buy A
Harley Today !!!Much
like Gibson the
components are all
mass manufactured
offshore, then
shipped into the USA
so the "Made In USA"
stamp can go on it.

If The Quicksilver
came from the Gibson
company or the PRS
Company and the same
markups applied to
it as the Les Paul.
You can bet the
Quicksilver would
cost over $40,000.00
maybe more !

That of course, is
way too much
money for a guitar
(unless you are a
moron) and that is
why Gibson will
never be able to
compete with a true
custom boutique
builder like us.
Not on any level of
intelligence or
morality anyway.

BTW The Quicksilver
has multiple sounds
and also comes in a
wide range of woods
& even body
shapes... You can
choose every single
component on any
custom ordered
Quicksilver.

bridge,
pickups, tuners,
knobs, fret size,
fret material etc
etc

JUST TRY AND DO THAT
WITH A GIBSON,
FENDER, JACKSON,
PRS, ESP, EVEN A
DUESENBERG WON'T
ALLOW YOU ANY REAL
CHOICES !!!!!

.
I could go on for a
long time about the
technical advances.
The much much longer
neck, The better
wood, better
hardware, real MOP
inlay, Gibson uses
plastic inlays on
most of their
guitars.

I hope I didn't Bore
You With This
Dissertation,,,
I am passionate
about guitars & I do
know exactly what I
am talking about..

Ed

Doesn't Live Up To
Ed's Hype

By Anonymous (Of
Course) (spelling errors highlighted
in red)

After visiting Ed
Roman's website and
reading many of his
rants I had
the impression this
was a serious store
for serious
musicans
and that Ed was some
kind of guru and
champion of the
guitar enthusiast. I
visited a couple
times and found out
this wasn't the
case. Ed claims his
sales staff is more
qualified than
Guitar Center, but
the guy who helped
me was clueless
about the the most
basic aspects of
some of the
instriments--he
actually reminded me
of Jeff
Spicoli from
Fast Times, a
complete space
cadet. Instruments
were kept in
horrible playing
condition (a new
$4,000
Les Paul I
evaluated had grimy
old strings that
seemed neglected for
ages! How hard is it
to spend $3 and 5
minutes for a fresh
set?) I wound up
purchasing the same
guitar somewhere
else.
Note from Ed
"I'll bet $1000.00
that's a lie"

I was even
personalyscoleded by
Ed for how I was
strumming a
Pearlcaster that I
was considering
buying--he seemed
worried I might
scratch the
pickguard. This was
insulting, as I
regularly purchase
and collect
expensive
instruments and know
how to handle a new
guitar.
I'm Sure That's
Another Lie

The store
doesn't carry true
premium instrument &
amp brands, but
sells Ed's custom
guitars (his
signature bass
sounded pretty good,
but upon inspection
was really shoddy in
construction--which
surprised me, given
how much Ed hypes
his knowledge of
quality instruments
and superiority over
the "big"
manufacturers.) In
the end, the
selection is quite
weak, many of the
instruments seem
like they are stuck
in an 80s big hair
metal video, and you
won't find the
current line up of
highly regarded
boutique brands like
Trussart, Tom
Anderson, Sadowsky,
Fodera, Victoria,
Dr. Z, 65 Amps,
Divided by 13,
Swart, etc (the list
goes on and on.)
There are so many
cooler stores out
there, with better
product,
knowledgeable sales
staff, and customer
service. This is a
small-time operation
with an
overinfated
ego.

Posted 12/31/07

I
guess I can't win 'em
all. If
you do send in a
negative comment it will
be printed !!!
Read My Response To This
Cretin

This was posted
anonymously of course.
Why is it that almost
always the negative
comments are always
anonymous. also
the spelling is
atrocious to the point
where I don't believe
this guy makes enough
money to be able to
afford to buy expensive
guitars regularly.
As far as the Space
Cadet comment. Judging
by the date this was
posted, I think this guy
probably was in the old
store that I used to own
Which I sold In the
first half of 2007.
The very first thing
the idiotic new owners did was
fire all the older
higher paid competent
people and hire a bunch
of
low intelligence geeks.
Many of them Guitar
Center Rejects or Ex Sam
Ash people who couldn't
cut it.
One of them could have
been Spicolli's twin
brother !! (No BS)
So that part of his
story rings true.

The new owners failed
within 6 months. They
put these idiotic kids
on commission and sent
them out on the floor to
kill each other ..
Commissioned salesmen
will say anything to
sell you a guitar..
They will lie about
anything or tell you
what you want to hear
just to get you to reach
in your pocket.
NEVER TRUST A
COMMISSIONED SALESPERSON
EVEN IF HE'S A REAL PRO.
They are just better at
hiding their sheer
dishonesty.

Eventually
I
ended up with the
company again. Oh well
maybe someday I will be
able to retire ha
ha.
At this time I have 2Trussart
pieces in
stock, 4 Andersons, 2
Sadowsky's and 1 Fodera.
Granted I didn't have
many of those but they
don't sell all that well
for me. TheTrussart
are priced fairly and
the Fodera's are worth
the money but the
Anderson's and the
Sadowsky's are so
incredibly overpriced
that I don't do well
with them.

Since I don't do amp's
at all I
suspect the guy who
wrote the letter was
possibly never in the
store at all.

Possibly
he was one of the hired
paid for shills that
work for one of the big
retail companies that
spew untrue things all
over the internet about
smaller independent
stores and builders to
discourage people from
buying from them.
We get a lot of that
!!!!!!!

These big companies have
knock lists and if you
are unlucky enough to
get on it they will
disparage you on the
internet anonymously for
months on end.
Never believe anything
if its posted
anonymously or if you
don't actually know who
is posting it... It's
too easy to lie.

Ed

Huge Guitar Store

By Jeremy H.

Ed Roman is huge.
The selection is
amazing, there are
so many guitars in
this place. I
believe it is
advertised as the
worlds largest
guitar store. The
staff are very
friendly and
customer oriented.
They are extremely
helpful and you can
tell they really care about
the instruments
because they won't
let a customer grab
a guitar unassisted.

Posted 10/14/05 |

Today We Have
Downsized, 2009 You must
state your business to
make an appointment to
walk into the store..
But we are planning a
Guitar Museum in Vegas
for people to be able to
gaze at guitars.
Ed Roman 2011

Amazing Selection of
Fine Instruments

By Nick D.

At first I didn't
like Ed Roman very
much because of the
signs everywhere
saying, "Don't Play
The Guitars". This
seemed contrary to
logic and every
music store I've
ever been in since I
was a little kid. So
I walked up a
salesman and asked
and he told me how
much abuse guitars
take in stores like
Sam Ash and Guitar
World. This is
obviously a store
for serious
musicians, i.e.
you're going to buy
a guitar not kill
some time one
Saturday afternoon.
I found their
selection of guitars
both acoustic and
electric very good.
The store has a
quiet almost museum
like quality to it,
which is funny for a
music store. The
salespeople were
very helpful and not
pushy. Of course, if
you're really
interested in buying
a guitar they will
let you play it
first. I respect
their concept and
it's a great way to
keep their quality
under control, it
just seems
un-natural.
According to this
salesperson, Ed
Roman Guitars does
most of its biz on
the internet.

First Review!
Posted 07/05/05 |

Hey Man,

I am a poor Analytical Chemist with a large mortgage and multiple mouths to
feed if you know what I mean. I unfortunately don't have much money to
spend on high end gear like your lovely
Pearlcaster and
Quicksilver guitars.

My current axe is the
PRS Santana from 2001 so you know right away only go
for quality LOL LOL LOL!

I would like to upgrade from the
PRS but I am at a loss as to what the best
low priced ( don't want to use cheap) guitar you would recommend. I
looked at the MK's and they look stunning but at 700 bucks outta the
price range I am afraid.

I saw the Dillions and they looked good but I have NEVER heard of them
before. Also I have to admit it kinda sucks being lumped in with the axes
parents should get for their snot nosed lil brats.

If you have a line on some used but not terribly abused eq that might fit
the ole budget I would like to know about please let me know.

Thanks,

Richard Martinchalk.

P.S. I love the fact that you speak your mind. Keep preaching YOUR truth
it's fucking refreshing. I hate people who won't speak their mind because
it's not PC. Even if you were wrong at least you were
heard.

PEACE

Hey Ed, & Tommy.

It's Pou Piam from Riverside, CA. I just wanted to say thanks for all your
help last summer, and sorry for not getting back to you sooner.

With my custom Roman guitar, I made a four song EP called "The 13th Evening"
that's now available on iTunes, Amazon, and a bunch of other places.

I wouldn't have been able to get guitar solo sound that I did without my
custom guitar. Now it wasn't always a quick (or cheap!) journey, but in the
end I've got a killer record and guitar sound that no other 17 year old kid
does.

So bottom line, thanks for everything all the time and effort that you put
into my guitar really comes through.

Feel free to stick this on the website somewhere so people can see all the
glory that is Roman!

Pou Piam

Ed,

Thank you so much for your patience and time that you have put into me over
the past few months.

I Received my Highly Figured Burl Top
Quicksilver today and to be honest I
was very hesitant to open the case at first. I did not know what to expect
to see. Its not everyday you get to open a case to a $4,000 dollar guitar.
Its like winning the lottery so to speak.

I finally had the balls enough to open the case and I was shocked by the
beauty of the top and I picked it up and was pleasantly surprised at the
weight of the guitar. The woods are extremely beautiful and the neck feels
absolutely amazing. The action on it is nothing I have ever felt on any
instrument I have played.
I

own a
PRS Single
cut and The Quicksilver is by far more superior to the
PRS.
The pickups on the guitar are just as elegant as the guitar itself and play
absolutely amazing. Also want to thank you for the extra strap that you sent
with the case.

My only problem I have is the volume and tone knobs are a little loose and I
am not sure what the purpose of the push pull pots are for. Can you give me
a bit of advice on how I can tighten the volume and tone knobs and what is
the purpose of the push pull.

Thanks again

My expectations were blown away I was expecting something similar to a
PRS
but nothing compares to the
Quicksilver. I am planning on trading my current
Crate stack and PRS For a more toneful amp such as a Marshall Tube, Mesa or a
Peavey so I can hear the true beauty and tone of this guitar.

Brandon Tourigny
Illinois

Hello Mr. Roman,
I just want to thank you for telling the truth and for truly caring
about the quality of the instruments that you build. You are a
refreshing anomaly in this Guitar Center Sam Ash world of bullshit
spewing salespeople. You equip people with THE FACTS and they can
either get into acceptance or criticize you for popping their non
reality based bubble.

I am going to come into some money
soon and I am GREATLY looking forward to coming to your shop and
spending as much as possible. I will call ahead as I am hoping to
have a conversation with you although I am willing to bet that all
of your staff share your vision.

My uncle in law purchased one of your
guitars (sorry, I cannot remember the model) and I thought it was
VERY well made and had great tone and feel to it. I work as a
substance abuse clinician and I am well aware of the unpopularity
that comes from telling people the truth. I have never met you but I
TRUST you when it comes to guitar information. I recently went to
Guitar Center as one of the employee\'s had asked me to bring in my
guitar. He asked me to try out a new
PRS DGT model. I tried it, it
was o.k. but in my judgment not even in the same orbit as my CE.
There was also a guy in there who offered to trade me his 2001
custom for my guitar...no way. Enough already. Thanks for telling
the truth. I hope your business continues to prosper and I look
forward to meeting you and happily parting with money
simultaneously.
Sincerely,
Steve Bell

On Mon, May 18, 2009 at 8:57 PM, J.Grant wrote:

Ed, I'll keep this short. I need your help. I am the proud owner of three of
your guitars...I love all of them - especially the
Pagan - which I put in a
pair of Bill Lawrence "Original Dimes." I am a good customer, but I made the
mistake of going outside your shop to have a Warmoth VIP custom
painted...That was in January of this year...I still don't have the guitar
back, and the asshole at XXX XXXXXX XXXXX Will give me my guitar back, but
none of my money. I paid him over $400 for paint and supplies... I have
contacted him many times asking him to finish my guitar. He keeps telling me
they are behind 2 weeks...and he's rude to me...I was supposed to get my
guitar back at the beginning of April.. here it is going on the end of
May...NO GUITAR.

I'm so freaking pissed off...I'm kicking myself for not letting
your shop finish my guitar...and letting this asshole at XXX XXXXXX
XXXXX finish it...Can you help me get my guitar back...finished! (or
unfinished with all my money back - including shipping?) I shouldn't
have to wait this long for a simple trans blue with a poly coat...or
whatever he uses! I even sanded the old finish off...all he had to
do was some minor sanding, and slap some paint and its all
good...maybe 3 months tops!!!

Ed, I'm a good guy in this world. I'm buying a new house (my first),
I'm a school teacher, I'm retired Army...Everything is going right
in my life - except this...I should have used your shop, and I'm
really freaking sorry I didn't...Is there any way you can help me
please? I don't have anyone else to turn to except high priced
attorneys...
James Grant

I would really have liked to publish the name
of the shop that is giving you problems but I can't let my site be
used as a weapon against another shop !!! (Unless of
course it's Guitar Center Ha Ha)
Ed

Dear Ed,

I just had to write another E. Mail about my Two
Quicksilver
Guitars I bought from you. As you know I was ALWAYS a
Gibson Guitar Lover
from the time I was Nine Years old until 2002 when I first walked into your
old store with my wife to see what Ed Roman Guitars was truly all about. I
had found your web site about 9 months before getting off my Butt and going
down to see the REAL DEAL in person. I also had a 1972 Gold top
Gibson Les
Paul Deluxe which I Toured with and used as my Main Guitar for 12 years.
Warming up just about every Classic Rock Band there is I had a FULL Plate at
that time and didn't have time to even THINK about buying a REAL Guitar like
the 2 Quicksilver's I have now. But after reading just about everything on
your Web Site, before going down to the store and meeting you in person
which I finally got around to back in 2002 was one of the smartest things
I've ever done in the 41 years I've been playing Guitar.

I had called and made an appointment with you so you could look over my
72 Les Paul Deluxe and see if you could get it back the way it was when I
first bought it when I was 12 years old. Well, again that was one of the
Smartest Things I've done in the 41 years I'm Playing. Meeting you for the
first time and just listening to the knowledge you have about Guitars &
anything with strings on it just blew me away.
Back in New York I had a good
Guitar Tech who was Ron DeMarino but after listening to you for the first
hour or so I knew you just blew my old friend Ron out of the water with what
you know. Ron was a GREAT
Gibson Guitar Tech because he worked for
Gibson
for 20 years before going out on his own and starting his own business. And
like I said he always kept my
Les Paul in good shape, but any of my other
Guitars were always a problem for him. And when I bought a
Steinberger when
they first came out and brought it in for a setup well Ron just couldn't
handle it. But that's enough of my old buddy Ron. He's retired now and his
son took over his business and since I don't live in New York anymore I wish
them both the best. Now lets talk a little bit about my 2
INCREDIBLE Quicksilver's.

Note
Ron DeMarino was John Lennon's guitar tech for more than 10 years....

The first time I walked into your showroom I practically got knocked
down when I saw the Spalted Maple
Quicksilver hanging in the showroom. I
remember walking in with my wife holding my Les Paul and before meeting you
I was drawn to that Guitar. My wife just looked at me and said Oh No. You
LOVE that Guitar and you haven't even touched it yet. She saw the look in my
eye. And since we've been married 29 years she happens to know me all to
well.
As I waited for you to come out of your office I just STARED at that
Guitar and said to my wife, I HAVE TO HAVE IT. Well, after finally meeting
you and discussing what you could do to get my Les Paul back to life, we had
made a deal for you to get me a Double Cutaway Gibson Les Paul, and for a
GREAT PRICE. BUT, the catch was I had to let you Re top my Les Paul so you
could get me the Double Cutaway Les Paul that I had been shopping for. I was
shopping for one at least 3 months before meeting you and when you told me
how much you could get me one for the deal was done. Three days later you
called me up and said the Guitar had come in and it was all set up and ready
for me to pick up. And that's when you told me NOT TO FORGET to bring my
72 Gold top in to drop off for the Restoration. That WAS part of the deal we
made. I DID give you a bit of a hard time with that but deep inside I knew
you would do the right thing. And boy was I right. After waiting 10 months
for it to be finished when I first saw it I was breathless. You had gained
yourself a Trusting, Happy, good friend and new Customer. There was NO WAY
anyone else would be working on any of my other Guitars in my Collection.

So about 3 weeks ago I was in to get the Certificates Of Authenticity for
my 2 Quicksilver's and I saw the Zebrano Quicksilver with the Korina Back
and it was like when I saw the Spalted Maple one. I immediately fell in love
with it AGAIN. I don't know if I'll be buying that Quicksilver because I'm
thinking of checking out your Single Cutaway Maximus and having my Dream
Guitar built by you. But I have to say, in the 5 years I've had my two
Quicksilver's I'm no longer a Gibson Guitarist. My Spalted Maple Quicksilver
and my Bocote Quicksilver with the Mahogany Back are STILL my two Main
Guitars. I don't even use ANY of my Gibson's anymore. They just hang in my
Guitar Museum that I created when my Son moved out of our home. I'm really
starting to think of selling off the Gibson's EXCEPT the 72 and getting rid
of the Gibson Wall Of Paul's I have and replacing them with Ed Romans Custom
Hand Built Guitars. I'm also thinking about getting myself one of your
Centurion Guitars also. And you happen to have a Zebrano Topped Quicksilver
Body in the Body Gallery that I'm thinking of buying to. That will make 3
Quicksilver's and who knows what else I'll be buying from you. All I know is
ALL your Custom Built Guitars just keep getting better and better. Your
knowledge in hand building Guitars is incredible and every time you develop
a new model they just keep getting better and better in more ways then one.
I'm very proud to know you and feel lucky to have you to work on my Guitars
and every time I bring one in for whatever when I get it back it's always
better then before I brought it in. Any Guitar players out there that don't
know you should make it there business to meet you and have you do the work
on there Guitars. As far as I'm concerned, in the 41 years I've been playing
your the best in the business that I've ever met. They just don't come any
better. Oh. There's one more thing. When I came in for the Certificates for
the Quicksilver's they took some pictures of the both of them. When are you
going to post them in the Quicksilver Gallery????? Please get them on there.
Thanks Ed. If the pictures got lost or something let me know. I'll bring
them back in for another photo shoot. But PLEASE get them posted. Thanks
again for everything Ed. I'll be in this week sometime to discuss the
Maximus with you and some other things I have on my mind. See you very soon
my good friend. Stay well and keep building them better. Your the BEST.

Best Wishes Always,

Charlie DiBuduo Jr.

I would just like to thank you for all the rants about
guitars that have been quite informative. I just wish that more people could
know about you and the wisdom that you give to help people. Unfortunately, if
you look at most guitar forums (i.e. ultimate-guitar.com) you can see all the
internet morons who trash certain brands and praise the
usual suspects.

I think that the worst thing I ever saw was when a poster
said that people only buy B.C. Rich's because they are preppies who want to look
cool. Of course this same poster talked about how he was getting a Gibson Les
Paul from his mom, who's the preppie here? buy B.C. Rich's because they look
cool, there's nothing wrong with that at all. I think that the price for B.C
Rich's is definitely not in the preppie range. I buy them because they are a
good guitar for a good price. I shall not spend the big price on a Gibson when
I could buy a B.C. Rich for much less, that is just as good (if not better) than
them. There is so much blind hatred for B.C. Rich, it makes me ill.

I wish that these people could come to your site and read
about this great guitar company. Your story about the man who came to your shop
and saw a B.C. Rich and fell in love with it, only to be turned off when he
learned who made it, illustrates perfectly the ignorance people have when it
comes to them. If you can you must write more about these
guitar snobs.

I thank you for your site. I have to say that your rants changed
my life, I really mean it.

Lemuel Smalley
Fayetteville, NC

If You Like BC Rich, You Gotta Check Out The
Abstract Brand !!!!!!!!!
These Guitars really shine if you are a BC Rich or Jackson Fan
Ed

Mr. Roman,

I would like to thank you for opening my mind. I was one of those guys
that if I saw a band in a club, concert, DVD, etc. and the guitar player's
axe didn't have Gibson or Fender on the head stock I would be disappointed.
I'd feel the band wasn't as good, or should be put on a lower level. Then I
found your web sight. Reading what you had to say about guitars, the exotic
woods, beautiful finishes etc. totally changed my mind. So much so I decided
to build guitars. I'm sending you photos of my very first one. It's a neck
through using Honduras mahogany. Zebra wood for the body that I re sawed so
the grain on front matches the back, with mahogany sandwiched in between.
Birds eye maple for fret board with flamed maple binding. I cut, radiused,
slotted, fretted and inlayed the fret board all myself. I also inlaid the
control knobs for extra effect. But the thing I'm proud of most is the
finish. It is French Polished. I did the whole finish by hand, no spray guns
or electric buffers. Yes, no electric buffing pads were harmed in the making
of this guitar. So again I would like to say thanks and express my gratitude
to you for opening my mind. Having said that, do you need any help in your
shop?

Thank you,

Chris Komen

P. S. Is that sucking up or what?

Dear Mr. Roman:

Please permit me this opportunity to commend to your attention several of
your employees have proven to be the most courteous and helpful.

Principally I wish to thank Scott Krell for his many long suffering
ministrations on my behalf. Scott has been of the greatest assistance in
acquiring two guitars, several amplifiers and a myriad of miscellaneous
paraphernalia and parts.

I would also like to thank Your shop for refinishing my 1963 Jazzmaster...a
work in progress that I have every confidence will prove a fitting tribute to
this fine old instrument that has served me for the past forty four years.

To Joseph in parts and Brian and Bobby in shipping, I extend my grateful
appreciation for their attention to my many a variegated shipments over the past
several months; all of which have arrived in a timely manner and in good shape.

My commendation is likewise extended to Eve, Jessica and Lindsey who are
always most pleasant and never fail to locate and connect me with the individual
with whom I need to confer.

The above employees, and many that I may have inadvertently neglected to
mention, have been among the most courteous and helpful individuals with whom I
have had a pleasure to do business. They are a credit to your enterprise.

Finally may I compliment you personally on the finest store, the most
comprehensive inventory of products ad the most helpful staff that I have ever
encountered, anywhere!

Most sincerely,
Peter Lipsio
Advisor to his Majesty King Abdullah
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Yo Ed

Magnificent!!! That's all I can say for my
Centurion, The action, feel & playability
are exactly what I wanted.... I now see the value in ordering exactly what
I wanted. I'm sorry for driving you crazy on the phone!!! I
would have been more patient if I knew that the guitar was going to be this
good. Thanks a lot, My next one is going to be a Redwood
Quicksilver, I love the sound of the
Sequoia !!!

Arne Ducille

Dear Ed,

No need to reply ... just wanted to pass along my compliments to you and your
excellent operation. It's really wonderful to see someone supporting small and
"obscure" guitar makers. And anyone who sells Burns guitars is cool in my book.
If I get an extra $600 to "burn" (sorry, couldn't resist), I'm going to you for
my Bison model.

Keep up the great work!
Best,
Bill Broun

Hi Ed,

I just want to send you a quick note to say thank you for all your help and
that the solid white korina Quicksilver (w/ fretboard dots, tung oil finish) I
received on Thursday (5/13) is fantastic! I couldn't be happier or more
satisfied with it. It plays great and looks beautiful. I know that you were
concerned with the imperfections (smudges) on the wood that were brought out by
the tung oil finishing process but I think it looks great. Gives it character. I
can't say that it exceeded my expectations though. That's because I had such
high expectations from this guitar in the first place and it did not let me
down. Even my band mates could tell the difference between the Quicksilver and
my Gibson CS-336. I wasn't all that satisfied with the quality and sound of
Gibson and I knew there had to be something better out there so I'm glad I took
a chance on the Quicksilver.

Thanks again Ed for such a fabulous guitar and thank everyone involved in
it's creation for me too.
Mike Romolino

Hi Scott,

My Quicksilver Guitar was just delivered. To say I am totally blown away would
be an understatement. The wood, finish, frets, and neck are flawless. The guitar
is just beautiful. Right out of the box the setup was perfect. No buzzing or
dead spots.

As you may remember, I came into the showroom to purchase another PRS. I
spoke to Ed and told him I had a 1993 Custom 24 and was looking for another one.
We talked about the PRS for a little while and then he showed me a Quicksilver.
I read all about the Quicksilver on the website and was not convinced that any
other guitar was going to have the tone or playability of my PRS. Especially a
guitar without a set-in neck. I played a Quicksilver in the practice room, and I
was very impressed. I ordered a Quicksilver the same day.

And now for the meat-and-potatoes. Any other guitar I purchased, even another
PRS, was going to be a backup for my baby; my 1993 Custom 24. I just finished an
A/B with my PRS and my Quicksilver. My PRS will have a nice spot in my music
room. My Quicksilver will now be in my hands. I can not believe how this guitar
sings. The Quicksilver fit into my hands like it was an old friend. The tone is
just incredible, even through my practice amp. Everything Ed said about this
guitar is true. I am extremely happy.

Sincerely,
Richard Larue

Hi Guys,

I was in a couple of weeks back and purchased the Purple JET.

Every time I play this guitar it continues to astound me. I enjoyed it a bit in
your shop, but that's hardly enough to appreciate just how good it is. This
instrument is so expressive and transmits every subtle expression so well. It
sounds like you are actually climbing into the guitar - you can feel the wood
and strings working to do exactly what your fingers ask. I am getting to be a
much better guitarist as I hearing things and finding sounds that were
previously invisible. (not to mention a renewed love of the
instrument and pulling out charts and tabs to practice once again)

With respect to the tone, the flexibility of the pickup switching is allowing me
to do exactly what I want in a way that I did not previously imagine. Amazing
"glass" but not brittle sound in the split positions. This guitar makes so many
sounds and outdoes both the "Strat" and "Les Paul" thing better than either of
those. (I remember when I used to say, well I need a "Fender sound" on this
track so I'm using my strat - HA!) Clarity of tone like this is remarkably
difficult without also revealing some annoying resonance or weakness - I can't
see how its done - this guitar has no rival that I have experienced.

(I don't even play my other guitars any more, except for quick practice on
guitars I leave out or at places where I don't want to worry about taking the
JET.)

I wanted to send a short thank you note for showing me that Eastman
Guitar. I would have been another Gibson casualty because I was ready to buy a
Gibson for almost $4,000.00 more money. The Eastman
makes mince meat out of the Gibson. When I got back home I went into
my local store in San Diego who sells nothing but Gibson guitars. I tried over
15 different models and about 40 different guitars. When I was at your shop I
played a Triggs R5, 4 Heritages, and the
Eastman. The Eastman the least expensive
and it sounded far better than everything else except
The D'Aquisto Teardrop. The Heritages were
disappointing because I had heard so much good about them for the last several
years. Your salesman clued me in that Heritage was no longer the one to buy.

I have mailed you a check for $2,200.00 full payment on the Easton rust
colored 17" model with the cutaway, including case shipping and insurance.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am a pro musician and I make my living
playing. I don't have money to burn on that BS hype that Gibson feeds the
suckers.

Herb Jackman
Ramona Cal.

Rich,

Thank you so much for guiding me to the
Pearlcaster I purchased. While I was caught up in the 50th anniversary hype of
the Stratocaster, I was convinced that if I purchased one, it must be a better
version. And thanks to you, I know own one. Please also pass along my thanks and
appreciation to the young luthier that crafted this phenomenal instrument. He's
really gifted and has truly crafted a masterpiece. I'm stilled amazed by the
Titan neck and am so glad Ed Roman Guitars is promoting the value that this
luthiery represents. I am also proud to say that thanks to Ed Roman Guitars, I
now own several masterpieces, and that while I feel they're worth every penny,
my Pearlcaster and Quicksilver are at the top of my list in the value for money
category.

In closing, it's reassuring that this luthiery
talent continues to develop and that Ed Roman recognizes this and helps it
flourish. I can occasionally be swayed by a pretty website picture, but when I
try to dig deeper and understand what makes the guitar better, I come up empty.
Ed Roman makes it very tough on the competition because you've lifted the veil.
I owe you a great deal of thanks and appreciate Ed Roman's commitment to offer
facts and details that educates the buyer and helps us discriminate the wheat
from the chaff.

Thanks,Mike Meisinger

Hi Ed,

My name is Dave Linden. This Saturday I walked into your store to check out
an acoustic bass made by Dean. Little did I know! I got your address from Dean's
dealer locater, I recognized your name from a while ago when I was doing some
research.

Dean gave me three dealers to choose. While driving down the road, getting
ready to leave town, I called and got directions. Why I called you first, and
only called you, I will never know. That phone call was an advent. Your girl
guided me in. Rich, your salesman helped me out, or should I say" opened my
friggin eyes".

Ed, I had no clue! All the research, hours and hours of online dealers,
manufactures web sites, trips to L.A. to large name showrooms, what a waste of
time. 20 min. in your store and I will never see things the same way again. Even
if you don't read this ,I want to thank you for the eye opener. I was standing
there looking at your Quicksilver guitars and I heard you talking to someone
about a proto design wannabe DIY acoustic. Please excuse me from eavesdropping,
Talking softly is not easy for me either. You said the one thing that my entire
work ethic is based on. You said "you will have to prove to me that it is the
BEST, If I can't make the very best, better than anything else, I don't want to
make it !" Hey I heard this with my own two ears, and except for a select
handful of men in the world, that commitment to quality does not exist. Ed, if
you built Ferrari's they would get better!

So, needless to say I'm sold . I will begin immediately selling all my old
guitars. I want your designs, simple yet rock solid. 1 quicksilver, 1 strat
type, no trem, and that killer bass that Rich showed me w/ birds eye maple neck. I have been in so many shops, I can't count them all, never have I seen this
quantity/quality ratio. I look forward to owning several of your creations.

Thank You,
Dave Linden

Here at Ed Roman Guitars we have a standard form job
application. The application asks many of the usual questions and some that
may seem a bit unusual.

For Example

1. What do you think of Ed
Roman's DO NOT TOUCH policy regarding new and high end guitars?

2. What do you think of the MEGA
SUPERSTORE MUSIC STORES?

We ask these questions to try and ascertain whether the
applicant realizes why we do things a little differently here than most
stores.

Recently an Applicant David O'Donnell answered the
questions in such a way that I thought might be entertaining to my readers. David sold guitars for a living in fact he was a 7 year
veteran of Sam Ash Music in Hempstead New York.

1. What do you
think of Ed Roman's DO NOT TOUCH policy regarding new and high end guitars?

Answer/ A customer who will normally purchase a high
end instrument will usually not want a shopworn floor model. If an item is
shopworn the retailer will be asked to discount it drastically. Also, some
people intentionally ruin instruments, steal knobs and other parts or ask to
to play instruments with their hands filthy.

2. What do you think of
the MEGA SUPERSTORE MUSIC STORES?

From the perspective of a salesman who worked for Sam Ash
before they changed to a Mega Store, I have very strong opinions on this
subject !!!

Not only did that change end the possibility of being a
career salesman (I personally went from making $40,000.00 a year to about
$27,000.00). It also ruined the shopping experience for serious customers.
Every single knowledgeable salesman left after that change.

Guitar Center is totally geared toward the hobbyist or non
playing music enthusiast. Their concept of "vibe", which includes blaring
different recorded music from all departments simultaneously is completely
counter productive to the choosing of a musical instrument. They pay their
salesman nothing and it shows.

Just got the Quicksilver
#453, I had a hard time putting it down so that I could write this thank you
note. I can't believe the way this neck feels, I thought I had seen it all.
This guitar totally destroys anything I have ever owned. This is the seventh
guitar I have bought from you and probably the best playing one yet. People
are amazed when they see my JET and my Gledura. I still have one of the
early McNaught Tempest Guitars that you sold me back in 1998. When
I got that I thought that was cool, when I got the JET I was floored and the
Gledura was even better. The next one will be a Viking, Would you
consider taking the McNaught as a trade? I gotta go the Quicksilver is
calling me. Thanks for building me the best guitar I have ever owned.

Lou Trainem
Monticello NY

Hi Ed,

I just had to let you know that I am just blown away by what
you are doing --- promoting real quality instruments as opposed to mass-produced
garbage. I remember when one local guitar store dealt
Alembic back in the 80's. I thought they
had probably gone belly up, but was pleasantly surprised to see that they are
doing quite well.

I have been slowly perusing your website, and have learned a
ton. My outlook on guitars has changed radically. I used to think that to get a
quality instrument at a price I can afford (professional musician) I would have
to settle for something not too attractive, but that has a decent sound.
Now I know about all these hungry young companies
making axes that blow PRS away for so much less. (I would've bought an 80's
Kramer over a PRS because of quality/price, for example.) I used to go to
Guitar Center and drool, but I went last week
and thought: "all overpriced crap". Most of my friends are also musicians, and I
am a totally converted person. I will be spreading the 'good news'!

Dear Ed Roman;

This check is part
of the balance for the Abstract Centurion guitar with the pig inlays. I'd
like to thank you for creating a website that opened me up to world of truly
custom made guitars. Sam Ash and Guitar Center
stores no longer capture my
interest. Also thank you for taking me a tour of your Connecticut
shop while I was there. When I ordered my first and second guitars from you
I had requested that the Buzz Feiten system be installed on them.

To be honest I
really wasn't convinced that there was any difference in sound; probably
because I tune my guitars so carefully and with a very accurate strobe tuner;
you would be pressed to tell me that my guitar out of tune. I said, "What a
heck" and ordered the modification anyway.

I then received
my Green Birdseye top JET Earlewood #126; I'm sure you've seen it. I still wasn't convinced
after playing it a week. I then reset the intonation to the
Buzz Feiten specs
and tuned up. After one strum I was then a believer. Not only is my JET Earlewood
the best looking and easiest playing guitar in the world, it is also the best
sounding.

I'll match my JET up against any guitar on planet. My JET makes
my beloved Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 feel like an Ibanez.
I thought nothing
could top my PRS. If people are buying JET Earlewood guitars just for
their looks that’s understandable, but they are missing the best part; they
play like heaven. Imagine playing full bar chords with distortion and still
sounding sweet.

I can't wait
until I get my Abstract Centurion with "Buzz" system and pig inlays, I'm sure
that'll be next to "Hog" up all my attention

I am 14 years old and I play both guitar and bass. I Strongly agree with all
of your opinions on guitars. Just because other people use them doesn't mean
they are good. I believe you have to play and decide that for yourself. I,
myself, despise guitars such as Gibson and Fender. I think if you want
mass produced pieces of crap, you should buy one of them. Lots of my friends
think they are good because their precious preppy punk bands use them. Of
course they never try any guitars out and they just go by what other people say,
but its not my problem. I greatly appreciate you revealing this to the public. I
own a Spector bass, and
Parker guitar, and I couldn't be happier.

Thanks again for sharing the same opinion. If you have any idea how to
convince my friends that all those Gibson's and other guitars are truly garbage.

please let me know.

Sincerely,

Louis

Hello
Louis

I am
impressed with your conviction at such a young age. You have what is known as
leadership qualities. Many of your friends are doomed to be Indians but you will
probably grow up to be a Chief. Remember that there can be no Chiefs
without Indians, So stop trying to convince your friends to be open minded. When
they grow up they will be the Indians. And you can have the last
laugh.....

Ed
PS

There is no racial slur intended towards our Native Americans commonly known as
Indians. It is simply an old expression I heard when I was quite young. And it
stuck with me.

Rich

What a great deal, The Turquoise PRS you shipped me came in at almost
$500.00 cheaper than my local Dealer, (Guitar Center). I have never
purchased mail order before but I will buying all my guitars from you, from now
on. It's definitely true what you guys say about giving the best price. The
closest price I could find to you guys was at a store in Pennsylvania. According
to them the guitar was a factory blem and didn't have much flame. The one from
you was one of the nicest PRS guitars I have seen.

Johnny Labrie
Framingham Mass.

Hey Ed
You were right the Quicksilver was so much better than the PRS I
couldn't believe it. I appreciate you taking the PRS in trade,
I should have bought the Quicksilver first. I did get 2 good
years out of the PRS but I had no idea what I was missing.
The bridge makes a huge difference, the guitar stays in tune better,
the color is better, the flame is better and the sound is
indescribably better. I like the controls better, even the tuners
are tighter and much easier to lock down.
I will keep this guitar my whole life, I really appreciate the help
you guys have given me, Stephen & Scott are both a big help whenever
I need anything and every time I talk to you I learn more about the
guitar,

Never-ending thanks
Forever Your Customer
Johnny Labrie

PS
The other guitarist in my band won't stop playing the Quicksilver, I
predict, He will be calling you for one soon, he's already rounding
up the cash. His name is Kyle Overton He lives in
Boston, you will be hearing from him very soon.
JL

Ed Roman

I recently bought the EVH red, white & black candy stripe Kramer styled
guitar that you built for Charlie Beckley in Boston. He told me you built
it for him in 1993. He did not want to sell it but was forced to because one of
his kids was very sick and he needed the money for doctor bills. I paid
quite a bit for the guitar, in fact I found out from one of your people that I paid $800.00
more for it than what it sold for in 1993.

I am writing to tell you how incredible this guitar sounds and plays. I can't
believe the neck, The minute I picked up this guitar it felt like a long lost
friend. I will never sell this guitar!!! I have been looking for something like
this for over 15 years. It was well worth what I paid for it !

I contacted your shop and told them that I needed a new nut because
the old one cracked in shipping, they sent it out to me no charge and told me
they
would be glad to help me with any problems that may ever arise.

Thanks for your great web site, Thanks for building this incredible guitar. I
have been reading your web site. Thanks for your no BS attitude. I will
never even consider doing business with any other store.

Carl Corcoran,
Perth Amboy, NJ

Hughie Thomasson "The Outlaws"With one of his 2 Pearlcaster's

Subject: Tell Ed I said "Thanks!"

First of all I must say, your website is awesome!

The facts disclosed to me were the main guide for me in my hunt for the
elusive guitar I was searching for.

First off, a little background...

In 1996, I was firm Les Paul player. I felt (and still feel) that the
tune-o-matic bridge is the only way to go for a hardtail. I was also in the
belief that Les Pauls were just about as good as it gets for the money. (I'm
speaking USA made guitars) This is before the ridiculous price increases and
insane "Reissue" overpricing and now the VOS series (not to mention other
business ventures Gibson has slapped it's name on...have you seen the
guitars at Target?)

I've given up on Gibson now as a reputable company.... the business of making money is now more
important to them than making fine instruments. Probably been that way for
20+ years but I just never realized it. The repair shop still does good work
(a saving grace) but the diversification of the models is just confusing
and has devalued the Les Paul line all together (in my opinion).

Anyhow, in 1996, I went to a music store in Wilmington that just became a
PRS dealer. (BTW, the east coast of North Carolina is a music gear "dead
spot"....no boutiques here)

My reaction to the PRS was severe! Man, what a guitar! It was a 1995
model that still had the old style heel. I asked the salesman how much...he
said $3200. I was floored, but I just had to get me one of these PRS
guitars! I asked him if it came in a non-vibrato model...and I didn't like
the bridge on it either. So I asked if it was available with a tune-o-matic
bridge. He said custom orders only. He told me that they use to make one
back a few years ago, but discontinued it. Then I asked if he would trade a
Les Paul & some cash for a PRS. He said he'd take two Les Pauls for one PRS.
I was appalled! Needless to say, I walked out without a PRS that day, but I
vowed I'd find a used one with a Tune-o-matic on it soon.

Years of searching....

Eventually, the internet came along but I never even saw one on Ebay!

After reading Ed's web pages, I became aware of the model I was looking
for and armed with this information, I finally found one...on Ebay!

It's a 1991 Limited Edition.

The numbers on it are 112122.

It's on the FedEx truck right now...so I still haven't played it.

I've attached some pics of it hoping you could tell me anything you might
know about this guitar.

My gathered gleaning of the internet offerings on this model tell me that
only 300 Limited Edition models were made. These and "custom ordered"
guitars are the only PRS guitars that have a T-O-M bridge.

In my search I have seen a few of these models....all of them had flame
tops, Redwood (which has some cheesy story about the wood's origin), Maple
or Cedar. They also came with bird inlays and gold hardware (so I'm lead to
believe).

Not so on this model! This model looks to be a glossy black, which may
make it impossible to find out just what type of top it has on it. Also, it
has chrome hardware instead of gold and dot inlays instead of birds.

My questions are...

How can I find out the type of wood the top is made of?

Is chrome hardware original on this guitar?

Does the absence of bird inlays, no flame top, chrome hardware and black
color make this a "no frills" version of the Limited Edition? If so, would
you say this is much rarer than the other "more adorned" models? (although
maybe not as beautiful)

It's sad that it took ten years to find one particular guitar, and even
sadder that the one I finally found on Ebay is just a plain black model. But
I really love the old PRS necks and 10 years is a long time to wait.

BTW, I paid $2,180 for the guitar. I hope it's a good one!

Thanks for your time (whoever answers this)

Thanks again for all the valuable info on your site!

Potential customer,

Clay Harley

Ed

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your web-site, I now have a much more
appreciation for American made guitars from the comments you made. I've been
playing for 26 years and I have settled for cheap, crappy junk because I didn't
want to spend the money for a good, well crafted instrument but that's all going
to change! It might take me awhile to save the money but I'm sure in the long
run it will be a wise investment . I'm also tired of messing with these local
music stores that won't give you the time of day unless you look like a damn
rock star and most of them carry crap also. If you have any suggestions on some
guitars to check out, please get back with me. I hope I will get to do some
business with you.

Dwane Doner

Hi Scott,

I received the packet with the polish cloth and warranty information in it.
Thanks for sending it out to me so quickly. Also, thanks for recommending the
370 over the 360. I'm very pleased with the sound I'm getting from it.

I've enjoyed my interaction with you and with Ed Roman Guitars, and
will recommend your store to anyone that is looking at a Rickenbacker purchase
(or any other high end guitar purchase).

Thanks,
Daniel Prevett

Denny Laine

Founder & Original Lead Singer Moody Blues
11 year member of Paul McCartney's "Wings"
With His Quicksilver

Hello again Ed,

Thank you for your response, I realize you are very busy. I believe you are
probably operating one of the very best and most respected guitar shops in the
known world - and you are not even in L.A. or New York!

Joanne actually followed up and sent me the trem bar - please thank her again. I
am very much looking forward to visiting your shop as soon as I can, and will
bring the PRS with me so that you may evaluate what needs to be adjusted.

Thank you again for a lifetime of expertise, and for putting it all out there on
the web site so that guys like me can find you and utilize the knowledge!

Mike Cardoni

Hello and congratulations for your excellent work, both on your site and your
business! I am 24 years old, from Greece and live in Germany for the
purpose of studying sound engineering was and still am ,at least impressed with
what I have so far read and seen in your site and look forward to having the
chance one day, and buy such wonderful instruments such as the Jacobs,
Jaros, JET and other fine ones. The truth is that by reading all this info
I finally realized how the industry works.

Let us say I saw light at the end of the tunnel. I came across some of the
things you mention, about yourself being flamed and called names from others and
I find it pathetic. I do not know who you are in person and what you stand for,
but I take the everyone is innocent till proven guilty, approach with you as I
do it in life! (Although I know that the opposite works in a more defensive
manner and one can avoid nasty mistakes. But it may also take more time to learn
valuable lessons from those aforementioned mistakes. do not judge anyone for
nothing less than what he or she is in life. Well enough said, this is only a
greetings mail and a hope to do business with you one day. I like your style and
attitude. And I would like to meet you one day!

Thank You for your time in reading this It was just an idiot's attempt to
somehow say something, maybe not worth said at all!

Yours Truly,
Alfonso A. Vlachos

TED NUGENT & HIS QUICKSILVER 2010

Hi, Mr. Roman -

Thank for being so courteous and telephoning me so promptly. I am rushing to
get the instrument out the door to Ron before today's end per your instructions.
I am enclosing a copy of my prior email to Scott and you with my cover letter to
Ron with the instruction that he should contact you upon receipt of the
instrument.

Forgive the patchwork effect of this email. Below is copy of the text from
the letter I read to you earlier today. I will send you a hard copy shortly.

Thanks again for all your help. If you need to reach me feel free to leave me
a message at home or to contact me in the office.

You have my gratitude for your help.

Best regards,
Ross Berkal

Dear Mr. Roman:

I am one of your new customers and recently purchased a Heritage Eagle
Classic guitar through your staff member, Scott Krellenstein. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank you for several reasons.

First, for making me aware of the manufacturer Heritage. As - after 25 years
as an electric bass player - I recently decided to undertake a change of primary
instrument, I was completely unaware of Heritage as a guitar maker. I can tell you that had it
not been for your enthusiasm for Heritage (as apparent in your excellent
website) I would neither have been aware of Heritage nor considered them as a
maker for my new instrument. Though I have literally just received my new guitar
I must tell you that Heritage’s workmanship is virtually unparalleled in my
experience (your shop did fabulous set-up work on the instrument as well, thank
you), and it is very clear why you go to such efforts to make guitarists aware
of their instruments. Heritage is very fortunate to have such a supportive,
articulate retailer of their instruments.

Secondly, I would like you to be aware of the outstanding service I received
from your staff member Scott Krellenstein. Scott made a considerable investment
of his time and energy in helping me to make an intelligent and appropriate
purchase. This was not without difficulties as - for the reasons explained above
- I am still acquiring a sense of the different technical's involved with guitar
rather than bass. As far as I am concerned, the difference between a good
retailer and a great retailer is the service offered to the customer. Scott has
not only an excellent knowledge of your store, its inventory, and the subtleties
of differences in Heritage instruments, but also - and more importantly, in my
opinion - a considerable musical knowledge. I needn’t tell you that this is
something of a rarity when dealing with music retailers, who often know little
about either music or retail. Scott’s attention to the customer is the best
possible advertisement your store could have. Your prices are beyond competitive
(as you well know) and quality service renders your reputation indisputable, in
my opinion.

Thank you for making for making my recent purchase a positive experience all
the way around. You can be certain that my future guitar purchases will be from
your establishment.

Best regards,
Ross Berkal

Mr Ed Roman

This letter is to express mine & my husbands appreciation to your
wonderful store. My 2 sons 17 & 15 visited your store on Saturday, They
haven't stopped talking about your store for 4 days, They both love Joe
Satriani and they both want to buy the Ibanez gold colored ones you have on
display. The salesperson who helped them made a very favorable impression on
them. All they talk about is about all the fantastic guitars you have in
the store. I just wanted you to know my husband will be in your store in
about a week to get 2 of those guitars. By the way your price for both of
them was almost 500.00 less than they could buy them from the store they have
been taking their lessons at. We were quite upset about that because they
have been taking lessons there for close to 2 years. The teacher in the store is a wonderful
man, he actually recommended that we go see you.

Mrs. M. Layne
Kingman AZ

PS
While they were in Las Vegas they visited two other very large stores your
prices were 100.00 better each. One of those stores wanted to charge 50.00 each
more for the cases. Frankly we would buy them from you even if your prices were
slightly higher. The experience my 2 sons had, would be more than worth it!
Incidentally, none of the other stores even have the Satriani model in stock.

Thanx Again!
Marie

Ed Roman & John Mayall

Hi

See attached for quote from the Guitar Factory out of New York. Due to your
reputation I would feel most comfortable if I could make this purchase through
Ed Roman Guitars. The guitar is a Gibson SG Standard in Ebony with a Gibson
custom hardshell case. The price is $989 plus $20 for shipping (see below), the
purchase would be made with a credit card. If this is something you can do feel
free to call me at 609-xxx-xxxx ext 3358 - Eric Emery

Just for your information I was in the local music store looking at
guitars with my son and there was this man picking up everything and playing, as
I walked by he said If your going to buy a new guitar go to edromanguitars.com.
Well I didn't and ended up returning two guitars because of problems with them.
By the way the store I was in will match the price, I am just leery of what I
will get.

regards,
Eric

Hello Eric,

They gave you a better than average price. Usually SG standards sell in most
stores for at least $1,200.00. So it appears that they were being fair with
you. I can still beat the price but not by as much as I usually like to. I can
beat that price by about $50.00 plus I can save you the sales tax which is
another $80.00. Shipping from Las Vegas with insurance will be about $30.00.
Your savings will still be about $90.00.

Ed

Jeffrey,

I just received my Earlewood #80 guitar from Ed Roman and I just want to
say If I would have had this guitar back 30 years ago I'm sure my career path
would have been different! You make the best!

Best Regards and looking forward to owning more of your guitars!

Carlos M. Gonzalez, Jr.
President
ISLAND SYSTEMS & DESIGN

Leslie West With His LSR
Rick Derringer With His Pearlcaster

Dear Ed

Thanks for the killer deal on the Jackson Soloist, your price was $200.00
better than Guitar Center and $175.00 less than my local store, plus I saved
over $70.00 in Tax, Guitar Center wanted to charge me tax on a mail order
guitar, f#%k them where they breathe. I truly hate them and I won't even buy a
pick from them !!!!!

Rob Frost
Providence RI

Ed,

I wanted to thank you for visiting with me on the phone …the website is
incredible…your store is a national treasure!!! … I now have a reason to come to
Vegas!!!...but, I will be sure to make and appointment first!

Thanks!
Bob in KC

Meatloaf With His Pearlcaster

HEY ED, WHAT'S NEW?

HOPE THIS MAIL FINDS YOU AND YOURS WELL
AND IN GOOD ROCKIN' SPIRITS. WE MET WHEN I WAS IN VEGAS JULY 5,6,7 THIS YEAR AND
YOUR STAFF WAS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO ALLOW ME AND MY SON TO TOUR YOUR MOST
EXCELLENT STORE.

I HAVE JUST BEEN ON YOUR WEBSITE FOR THE LAST HOUR AND I
HAVE TO SAY IT IS GREAT.

I AGAIN WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE
TOUR THAT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AND , AS A GUITARIST AND ENTHUSIAST, IT WILL BE
ONE OF MY LIFE'S MOST CHERISHED MEMORIES, ( AND MEETING YOU WAS PRETTY COOL TOO!
).

MY SON IS FLYING HOME TO YOUNGSTOWN 9/11/02 FOR A WEDDING
AND I'M SURE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT YOU (ALL GOOD OF COURSE ). I HOPE THAT THE
NEXT TIME I'M IN VEGAS I'LL GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE YOU AGAIN. IT WAS A REAL
PLEASURE!!! KEEP THE WORLD ROCKIN' AND LET'S WORK HARD TO GET NUGENT ELECTED TO
THE WHITE HOUSE. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.

ROSS HORN
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO

Hey Ed

Thanks for turning me on to that geezer in Massachusetts with the EVH
Frankenstrat, I didn't think I would be able to find one. The Guitar
plays and sounds incredible. He told me you built it for him in 1992. (Can
I buy a Black Back Pickup for it). I can't believe how stable the
guitar feels, It has more sustain than any other guitar I have ever owned.

Thanks Again..

PS
I want to buy another one from you without the candy stripe red & white paint
job? When I play out I don't want to use Eddie's signature paint on my guitar.

Chris Reis
Madison Wisconsin

Dear Ed Roman

I purchased a Rickenbacker 360 left handed, from your organization about 2
weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the two young clerks who
assisted me before the salesman. It was totally my fault, I showed up without
an appointment and the young lady who greeted me was able to get several of your
staff to assist me.

Being left handed I am not used to being treated well, as I am sure you know
no one gives a shit about the lefty guitar population. I had been looking for a
left-handed Rickenbacker for almost three years. Your store was the only place
I have ever been able to find one. Imagine my delight when I had a choice of
nine different models to choose from. I thought I had died and gone to
Rickenbacker Heaven.

I will never ever buy a guitar anywhere else as long as I live.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Ed Roman you are "The Man"

Customer for Life,
Maurice, W. LoPetomane

My name is Dave Rainey,

and I live in Helendale, CA. On a recent visit to
Las Vegas, I purchased a Heritage Blues Deluxe in Blue Burst from Jon at your
showroom.

I just wanted to let everyone at Ed Roman's know what a fantastic experience
it was dealing with everyone there. Due to an error on my part, the shipping
address had to be changed, and your shipping staff handled it professionally and
with great skill and courtesy. My Blues Deluxe arrived safe and sound almost
before I got home from vacation. Jon was a super guy to buy my guitar from,
knowledgeable, courteous, friendly, and professional. I must also say that I am
really pleased with the quality of the instrument. You can be sure that I am
recommending Ed Roman Guitars to anyone who is looking to buy a quality
guitar.

I have nothing but praise for your entire organization, which I feel is
first class all the way around.

Again, thanks! DAVE RAINEY

Signing off for now,
Dave Rainey

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and
he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day."

Rick Derringer 2008 Album Cover
With His Ed Roman LSR Guitar

Hey! Great site.

You've kind of taken on the function of a Consumer Reports
of the guitar world and that's definitely needed. I just wish there was
something comparable to it in the realm of amps and audio. I'm getting so tired
of seeing the cost cutting and overall corporate approach continue to degrade the quality of amps in particular. When you open them up, they
just seem to get more and more cheesy as the years go by. Before too long, if
it's not already too late, the young kid coming up to play guitar is gonna have
no clue what a real amp is or should sound like. They'll just mindlessly buy some transistorized piece of crap made in the shape of an amp
with a novelty glow-in-the-dark hand-picked 12AX7 in it for that thundering
"real" tube tone. But look on the bright side, it has 10-way channel switching
so you can easily switch between your 10 least shitty sounds. Distortion is
distortion, right? Its also lightweight so you can easily take your shit sound
with you wherever you go. (This lightweight quality is no doubt achieved by
utilizing advanced designing concepts, not from the transformers being half as
big as they should be.) And most importantly, it has an effects loop so you can
utilize all of those essential spaceship noises (to cover up your shit sound).
Even a lot of expensive amps seem to
be declining in quality. I just wish there was something around with the
clout of a WCG in this realm that would take the cost cutters to task.

While they're at it they should really lay the hammer down on all of the
absolute junk "all-in-one" shit that's being force-fed to the entry level pickers who don't know any better. The dildo in the store sells this crap by
ridiculing quality equipment with something like, "Why carry all of that heavy
stuff around with you when you can have all of your sounds in this small
package?"

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!! I'm a guitar teacher and one of
the hardest things to get across is that YOU CAN'T REALLY LEARN TO ROCK IF YOU
AREN'T PLAYING THROUGH A REAL AMP! Anyway, guess I'm done with my rant. You
got me in the mood, lol! Maybe I'm just wishing, but it would be very useful if
there were some relatively unbiased arbiter in the amplifier field. I realize
that tone is a subjective thing, but quality isn't. If you know of anyone out
there that might qualify as such, please let me know; hell, let everyone know.

Also, the reason I originally started to write was that on the bottom of
your used guitar page you forgot to mention the bombing of the USS Cole in your quiz. I don't know if this was intentional or not, but I'm sure that
the 17 sailors that were killed and the 39 injured would think it is worth mentioning.

Anyhow, I admire your integrity and I hope, and am sure you will, keep up
the good and honest work. (And keep up the humor as well, lol!)

Have A Great Day,
Ed Frillman

Hello Ed,

I just got the JET guitar, Thanks for all the help, Frankly I didn't expect
you to be so helpful, I used to see on the PRS site that you didn't help people
that much. BS to that, Whoever is saying that obviously never bought a guitar
from you. This is the second guitar you sold me and both times the deal went
100% smooth and I am an extremely happy client. I will refer you to all my
friends.

I am so glad that I called Tom Ivory and got his recommendation on you.
Otherwise I might have gone elsewhere. Tom gave you a glowing referral and told
me he had bought more than 10 guitars from you.

I still don't understand why those people on the PRS site bash on you so
much, You are obviously a pro and I want to reiterate one more time how happy I
was with both guitars. My next guitar is a Quicksilver for sure.

Matt Moritz
State College, PA

PS
Ed feel free to give my name and number out as a reference.

Matt

Subject Complement

I just bought a Heritage 555 from you, Thank you for the fast seamless
service and a great axe. I am recommending your shop to all my friends. Your
price is unbeatable, anywhere.

Bruce Corigliano

Rick Derringer

Ed,

I am sorry to waste your time, I know you are extremely busy, but I have been
scouring your web site for the past month or so and to make it simple, you have
really opened my eyes. Sounds kind of pathetic, huh? Now I know why that
"Kramer" (import) I bought back in 1984 played like crap. Now I have a better
appreciation for this beat up Hamer Steve Stevens I have that's just been
sitting around for the past few years. Now I know where that gut negativity I
have towards stores like Guitar Center and Mars came from. Now I remember that
quality is important in all aspects of life, not only guitars.

I just wanted to thank you and tell you that you have made one very
positive impact in another person's life.

I will soon be buying another guitar. I hope to buy it from you. I just
have to make my decision how much I want to spend and exactly what I need. I just want you to know that someone really appreciates your knowledge and
honesty.

Future customer,
Matt Lauber

Ed,

Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that the Trans Green
Jackson KV2 that I recently bought from you is beautiful! The flame is
gorgeous, and as you told me on the phone, not a single mark on it, because no
one but you guys has ever touched it. Set-up is excellent, sounds great.
Please pass the good word along to whoever checked it out before you guys sent
it. I couldn't be happier. I have a Blue Ghost Flame KV2 that I might want to
talk to you about doing a trans finish on, or maybe one of the "Tribal" graphics
that I saw on a couple of other guitars on the site. The green one steals the
show next to the other guitar. It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll
call you soon about re-finishing the other Jackson. Thanks for a beautiful
guitar, Ed.

Talk to you soon,
Michael J. Fasse

Ed,

I don't care what anyone says, You and your web site are the greatest
thing that has ever come along since I have been playing guitar. (25 years).

Thanks for your brutal honesty, and I love your rants. I am loving this
Quicksilver Guitar to death. I have never owned as nice a playing guitar as
this one. I thought the PRS was the shit until I got my Quicksilver. Let me add
I have had every conceivable guitar that you can imagine. I have even had 2
custom guitars made. They don't even rate being in the same room with my
Quicksilver.

Fletcher Evans,
KC MO

Just wanted to tell you how much my husband loves the guitar you sent. It's
his birthday present and he is delighted. He loves the sound and it sure is a
beauty. THANKS!

Lisa

Ed

That Pearlcaster guitar is the sweetest playing guitar I have ever had. I
have always been a Fender player and I thought I always would be. I can't
believe how good it holds tune & how good it sounds, It cuts through so much
better that my Original 1963 Stratocaster. I originally bought the guitar
because I didn't want to take my old Strat on gigs, After playing this guitar I
am more concerned with protecting it than my old favorite. I think I just got
all caught up in the hype. I paid 9 times what the Pearlcaster cost me and the
guitar doesn't come close.

Lester Brimhall,
Boise Idaho

Wow!!!!

Wow, All I can say is Wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave Monson
Boston

Dear Ed

Comments
Finding your web page was like being an adopted child and I finally found my
biological parents. The emotion was overwhelming. Your theology and comments were
words straight out of my own heart. I would add one saying "The typical club
owner doesn't know the difference between a guitar player and guy who owns a
guitar". When you can't do anything else, or be successful at anything else, you
can open a nightclub. Be there play there, can't take the lifestyle anymore.

Anyway, down to business. You said you take trades. You have a 100 anniversary Gibson
335 for 3701.00. I have a Fender Custom Shop Tele, Jr that came with Seymour
Duncan Pickups. I think it listed for $2,800.00 and has a certification of
Authenticity. Wish I could spell Authenticity? Anyway, Fender
can't make crap anymore. It was a piece of crap when I got it. Fret rattle, The
P90's sounded like a Kay guitar. I had some Gretsch White Falcon Pickups that
fit the pickup holes like they were made for it. I added Gold Hardware. I have a friend who is a reluctant
luthier, who mainly rebuilds pianos, but builds guitars and repairs virtually
anything. He redressed the frets, leveled them and put the Gold hardware on it.
Someone who has a hard on for Fender would love it. However, I have one one for
the Gibson 100 anniversary guitar that was priced at 10k, but now 3701.00, I
guess. You say you'll take trades. Any chance of you taking this tele on trade
on the Gibson after you examined it. It's an immaculate finish on it and I guess some guy name
Jose who sweeps the floors in the Custom Shop finished it and at least the
finish is perfect. The frets rattled and weren't level when I got it. I think
the Tele, now, is a world class guitar, but then again, what in the hell could I
ever own that would impress you? I can't imagine after seeing your web pages.
Let me know if I have a snow ball chance in hell of getting you to take it as a
trade or not. I think the greatest potential of this guitar is you converting it
once you get it. Never in my life, have a seen such a dealer, such a web page,
such an incomprehensible collection of guitars and knowledge in one place in my
life. And, yes I can suck up with the best of them.

First off, I would just like to say that you have the best web site on the
net and you know more about guitars than anyone. Now that I have this off of my
chest, I have just a couple questions concerning guitars and prices because i am
interested in buying from you.
1. Do you sell any kramer frankenstrat's, if so how much are they.

2. In the picture that is under Kramer's for sale at the top of the page,
there is a Eddie Van Halen Kramer with one humbucking pickup slanted and his
design, is that for sale, and how much?

3. How much is the kramer spatter paint job w/ the emg pickup? Thanx a
million, ur the best.

~Tony~

Hello Ed,

I just wanted to send you an email to thank you for your help and
excellent customer service this past Saturday. I'm the chick who bought
your translucent green Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar. Alan was also great
and patient in answering all of our questions. Thanks so much to both of
you for the tour of all of your displayed guitars and necks and especially
the guitar shop tour downstairs; I was always interested in guitar luthiery.

After we left your business, my friends and I could NOT imagine ever
purchasing a guitar at Guitar Center or Sam Ash. Thanks again for
everything.

Sincerely,
Sun Kim

P.S. According to your email instructions on your website, I made
sure my email was less than 150 words.

Ed

Thanks so much for seeing us on Saturday. You saved me over $600.00 from
Sam Ash on my sons PRS Guitar. I was impressed with your vast knowledge about
guitars and the guitar industry. Ron Jr. has been walking on air all week. He
never dreamed he would get to see guitars actually being made. He is bugging me
to take him up to see you again. Ha Ha I know you are busy and probably don't
have the time. All he talks about to his mom and me about is your store. He
would love to work for you when he gets a little older.

I just got finished reading your rant on the pitfalls of E-Bay. I wish I had
read it about a year ago. I shipped my Steinberger off to a supposed dealer in
San Francisco. I never got paid and I never even could get through to him. I
got ripped blind. Thanks for publishing the most informative, strait forward
and most complete guitar web site I have ever seen.

I will never buy from any other dealer but you!

Jeffrey Muckels,
Poughkeepsie, NY

Ed,

God, I love your guitar site! Makes all the rest totally sterile. Read your
rants and opinions and I thought, Damn, this guy could be my twin brother!! You
just "nail it'' on your guitar stuff AND your politically incorrect
opinions. From now on your my "go to'' for anything guitar---your inventory is
amazing and the pictures are too good to be true---I bookmarked your site with
an AAA so your on the top of my list. Keep up the great work!

Bob Wiese

Ed

Regarding my Parker Fly Pickup Upgrade:

Just a quick note thanks for a great job and getting the guitar back to me
so quickly !

Had a Band practice last night and the Parker sounded fantastic, Clean
sounds now have enormous depth and the overdriven sound is now really fat. I can
finally get a nice warm (On the edge of overdrive) sound. Which was simply
impossible before with the DiMarzio Pickups. And The clarity of the top end is
maintained.

I think Parker are definitely not doing their guitars any favours with the
Stock DiMarzio Pickups. But the Blackbacks have transformed my guitar. Your web
site is right, I won't be selling it now.

I have one question, Is it possible to adjust the height and angle of the
pickups or is this modification non adjustable. The neck pickup is a little low
and also tilts toward the neck slightly.

Thanks again for your help, Best Regards,

Antony Baird,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
England

Thanks, Ed:

I contacted you recently regarding a Rickenbacker, I was really happy with
the treatment I got. Your price was $300.00 cheaper than anyone else who had it
in stock, You were able to answer questions that no one else could even come
near answering. The guitar came in perfect condition and was packed extremely
well.

A salesman at the Rickenbacker factory told me that you were the only dealer
that had deep stock on the 360v64. He also told me, he thought a lot of the
negative postings that I saw were unfounded and probably untrue.

It pisses me off that I held off doing business with you because of some
anonymous jerks online who have chosen to bash you. These people are probably
other dealers who are jealous of you, They are trying to undermine you the only
way they know how.
I buy about 4 guitars a year and I will be calling you first each and every
time. In fact I am planning to visit you in January to try out a Quicksilver.
That is one interesting looking guitar!

Thanks again for recommending the Buzz Feiten system on my Hamer, I loved
it, no other guitar I have ever owned has sounded this good!

Ron Merrill,
Brookline Mass

Ed,

OUT-FUC$ING-STANDING!! Absolutely flawless job. Beautiful top and
finish. You guys totally nailed the cherry sunburst. Plays and sounds great
too. Thanks for a very professional job. Customer for life.

Now, if I could just get you guys to figure out how to do the lighted,
smoking pickup thing. I've got an Ace production model that's been asking for
it. Let me know.

Harry Rose,
12/15/01

Ed Roman................

I don't care what anyone says, You are "the man."

Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou!!!

God Bless

Wayne Lanier,
Rochester NY

Dear Ed

Just a short note to express my appreciation for all your help. Jamie has
been on Cloud 9 since we left your store. You made him feel like a Star! He
says he wants to apprentice in your shop. He would like nothing more than to be
around guitars all day. We were all incredibly impressed to see the guitars
actually being made right there.

I want you to know that I appreciate your honesty and so does Jamie,
Whenever myself or my husband take him to Guitar Center or Sam Ash it is very
obvious that the people there don't have any idea what they are talking about.
It always feels like they are lying to us.
We were about to make a very costly mistake at Guitar Center, Thank Heaven
that Jamie found your website.

Jamie plays with a bunch of other kids and they are actually getting pretty
good. He says he can't wait to tell them about your shop.
You really got through to Jamie, He hasn't stopped talking about you since
we were there.

Have a good Christmas

Marilyn Wilson,
12-04-01

Letter From One Customer to Another:

Sorry it's taken a few days. Work has been ungodly busy. As far as
what you're asking about the guitar: the guitar may not be completely all Ed
said it would be in terms of all the sounds it achieves (simply because that's
all subjective anyway, what sounds like a Strat tone to me may be different EQ-wise
to you, etc.), but it is DEFINITELY a close enough match.

It has versatility coming out its' ass. It definitely runs and covers the
gamut (and then some) of all the tones I need. I don't find that coil splitting
does much for heavily distorted tones, but who does? Clean, on the other hand,
is a whole different ballgame. Splitting the coils with the Duncan Blackbacks
gives all the Strat and Tele sounds, and the beauty of leaving the PU's in
humbucker mode is getting those sounds beefed up and warmer, just without any
muddiness like you would on Les Pauls, PRS's, etc. (solid mounting works wonders
for pickups). There's not too much gain to distort the clean sounds, either,
which is not easy to do on humbuckers of this nature. Seymour took his time
voicing these, you can tell.

As for dealing with Ed: he seemed very appreciative and patient whenever I
called to give specs and what not. I even had to split payments up between
checks and Visa for the remaining balance, which really helped, and he was cool
with that. I've talked to both Ed and his shop foreman several times since
and they always check with me to see if/how the guitar is holding up.

You can tell when he's having bad days maybe, sure, but he's never been
completely unbearable. He seems to be like his website conveys: if you take your
time with him and reason with him, you can trust him and his staff to build you
a great guitar. You should definitely know a great deal about what you want in
one too though. As I say, if you spend some time and do your homework it WILL
pay off. Any recommendations Ed has made were dead on, too. I'm glad I didn't go
with a floating bridge on this guitar, although I will have another axe with one
in the future.

The Quicksilver for me is an instrument whose subtleties can each be
appreciated, like a well-defined chord: every note stands out even though
they're played together. When you play it unplugged and/or with clean tones
BEFORE crankin' out the distorted tones, you'll know what I mean. This is
definitely a very-well designed instrument that balances perfectly for me. As
far as Harmony Central is concerned: I can't take a negative review into play
because I can't appreciate the false credibility one is trying to establish by
not signing their name to a review.

Want to ask them why they think it sucks? GOOD luck! That totally
invalidates these so-called "people" for me. Plus, spend a lot of time at Ed's
website, and you will see amongst the 500-some pages that he will go the extra
mile to try and make you happy if there's a screw-up. Ever notice that he
ENCOURAGES people to check into any business' background? Not afraid of
referencing the BBB, either. He firmly is dead set against most production
companies because he shows many examples of HOW they rip you off, and as far as
I'm concerned, he's dead right on every one of them. THINK about what you shell
out your hard earned money for: for swimming pool pickup cavities? For
Spring-Mounted humbuckers that will invariably cause muddy tone? For lower cost
(and conversely lower-tone) foreign parts like soft-metal bridges and noisy
pots? I've owned enough guitars myself to know that Ed's expositions of these
people/companies are true. I'm tired of being ripped off when I'm purchasing a
so-called quality guitar, and so is Ed. SCREW 'em all, Period.

I also noticed that some people thought the Quicksilver was "just ok"
for them, and that's fine too. Not all guitars are everyone's cup of tea,
they're all very subjective. But I can assure you they are of a much greater
quality than off-the-shelf-NON-Custom production guitars of the same and/or
HIGHER price than what you would pay for a similarly-appointed guitar from Ed's
shop. And remember, you're not limited to the Quicksilver, as you can see on his
World's Best Guitars page. If you decide the Quicksilver isn't for you, he's got
like 15-20 other lines (and then some) of high quality instruments.

The bottom line is that you'd be better off finding a model for yourself
on his site than buying a God-awful-white-bread-boring-and-very-overpriced
production axe, because from personal experience with production instruments,
you WILL need further satisfaction with them at some point. Why? Because you
DIDN'T have it made the way you wanted it in the first place. They make you
conform to their mold. Well, I say screw 'em! Next thing you know, it's a pickup
here, and a new color there, and these tuners suck, etc., etc. And for the sake
of argument, let's say you DO get that in a production instrument. What did it
COST you? I can guarantee it will be far more than it would be from Ed. And
plus, the quality of the instruments he sells is FAR superior. And if your
options end up running you a little more in the end, the cost is still quite
reasonable. It may take a while to get it, yes, but like the Heinz commercial,
the best things DO come to those who wait. It will be worth the wait, trust me.

2. The electronics can be whatever you want because it's a CUSTOM GUITAR.
Mine has a 3-way switch, 1 volume, and 1 tone (both push-pull pots, one to split
each humbucker). They are brand new, high quality, clean, and very smooth
feeling pots.

3. Yes, I did originally order a Jaros, and I'm glad that it didn't turn
out the first time and I ended up switching to a Quicksilver. I decided that
shape-wise, it wasn't for me. I was also curious about the bolt-in (not bolt-on)
thing, and plus I ended up not being able to afford a 3/4-neck-tennen guitar,
but I plan on going that road at some point with another one.

5. The only thing I recommend is to make sure you're mostly decided on
what you want in it before you go to buy it. If you're curious about a different
wood or two, ask Ed what would be best for your playing situation. He has a
pretty good feel for what's going on.

6. I plan on getting an axe with a vibrato at some point, and am not sure
about going 3/4 tenon, or neck-thru, or what not. I want to go quilt-top and
possibly piezo and/or MIDI at some point too. I'll decide on it when it comes
time.

I hope all of this helps. I've cc'd Ed in this, as you can see, in an
effort to perhaps try and break down what you need/want/are looking for in a
guitar. Hopefully Ed can build you an instrument of perfection for YOU
personally. He has for me. Good luck!! :) If you have anything else to ask,
let me know.

Chris Naish
Saint John, NB, Canada

P.S. NO, Ed does not pay me to praise him and his shop, in case anyone is
wondering. His staff works very hard to produce the best instruments in the
world, and it shows. Trust me.

P.P.S. Ed, if you read this e-mail, feel free to post any of my statements
to your heart's content. I'm a very satisfied customer! Thank you and your
staff again for a wonderful instrument. Finally someone does things right in
the guitar world.

Hi Ed!

Man, after going through hell and high water, I finally got my guitar, and
even though you guys forgot to put the pickup frames (which I’ll do here with a
luthier I know) and the binding has some details, I must say it’s a tremendous
state-of-the-art instrument. Its playability is out of this world, the neck is
smooth and the fret board has no dead or weak spots whatsoever, it’s just
perfect, the Steinberger tremolo system is wonderful, I wouldn’t change it for a
Floyd Rose in a million years, and the sound of the black/back pickups, words
can’t express how glad and satisfied I feel with this guitar, should I ever
think of having another guitar made, no doubt it’ll be with you.

Thanks for an excellent guitar,

Cheers!

George Oroszco-Zembrano
Valencia Venezuela

Hello George,

I'm sorry about the trouble with the shipping company, We won't use them
again!! As far as the pickup rings go, That's the way we install those pickups,
The Goof hider rings are only put on to make the pickups look like they fit
properly. If you mount the pickups correctly there should be no need to put
them on.

Ed

Ed, You Rock!

I read your articles about PRS guitars and I agree with you 100%. I think
you're the right guy to answer my question about the value of old PRS vs new PRS
guitars. I have an '89 Custom 24 with a "10" quilt top, tortoise shell finish,
gold hardware, fretboard w/moon inlays, and it is signed by Paul Reed
Smith on the back of the headstock. The top is as good as any of the Private
Stock guitars on their website. I am the original owner and I special ordered
the guitar with the features I described. I don't want to sell it, I just want
to know what it's worth for insurance purposes and I trust that you'll tell me
the truth with no B.S.

Thanks for your time,
Charlie Loach

Hello Charlie,

$3,000.00 to $3,800.00 depending on how nice the quilt is hope that
helped...
If it is a numbered signature, $5,000.00.

Ed

Salutations Ed,

Let me introduce myself. I am John Sandry and I have been viewing your website
for a couple of years now. Great site, also great insight on life. Your rants
are dead on. The reason I'm bothering you with this e-mail is that I want to
buy a Les Paul style guitar from you. After going to the locals ( Dave's
Guitar La Crosse Wisconsin ) I realized that the only guitars in my price range
I could get from them was either a cheapo "@#*phone" made with pride in the
third world or an overpriced Gibson. Oh, they also had PRS and custom shop
retops, but to afford these, I would have to sell my car and cut down to 3 or
4 meals a week.

That brings me to your e-doorstep. I
would like some prices on Heritage 150 models you have in stock. The color(s)
I'm interested in are almond burst or some type of light brown burst. Flaming
or quilting isn't important ( I realize that figuring = +++prices ). A guitar
that looks like a Gibby signature "Jiffy Pager" if you get my drift. As an
up sell, I want it with the changed pick guard, bridge, tailpiece, and
treble/rhythm trim ring if that is possible.

Ed, I'm willing to spend $1000 to $2000,
hopefully closer to the former than the latter. I don't necessarily need a
screaming' deal, I just want an honest price on a USA built guitar. Please reply
when you get the time. Thank you,
John P.S. What the hell is an aged guitar? What does Tom Murphy do, throw 'em
in the trunk of his car with some cinder blocks and drive around Hell's
half-acre for a weekend and then put them in a tanning bed till the nitrocell
crazes? Tomfoolery!

John

Hi John

I know what a Joke........ Sometimes people are not too bright...

I actually know people who have bought them, They seem like intelligent
people when you talk to them. But somewhere there must be a screw loose.

Anyway I am sure I can put you into a nice Heritage for between $1,200.00
and $1,350.00... That would include the bridge and pick guard you request, some
flame and a high quality hard shell case. Plus real MOP inlays and Grover
tuners... Prices start as low as $950.00

Ed

Ed,

I just checked out your site for the first time. I've been on Usenet for
many years and frequently see your name getting bashed, particularly on RMMG.
Hell, I get plenty of bashing on RMMG because I'm a right wing opinionated
Ahole but that's a different matter. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I read
most of your site and although you may indeed be "full of shite" as many people
on Usenet say, I happen to agree with, or at least not disagree with, most of
what you say. Besides, most people on Usenet are full of shite, some of it just
stinks worse than others. I'm full of shite myself but I'm usually right so who
cares, right? Keep saying what you believe and screw 'em if they can't handle an
outspoken dissenting opinion. I'll keep you in mind for future purchases or mods
to guitars, I'm impressed with what I saw on your website. BTW, I see you were
wearing a H-D shirt in a few pics - what do you ride?

I agree we are probably both full of shite, but at least, I don't try to
validate myself by dropping company name brands after my signature. What have
these companies done for you, that you would choose to advertise them in your
tag line on your e-mail. Screw them I say. In any case I love, Sig's,
I have 3 of them and I am getting their Assault Model SMG in January, But I
prefer the Glock on the pistols. I own an Armalite and 3 H-D's. When I drink
beer which isn't very often, I drink Bud and I love Jose Cuervo. I don't know
dick, about Dr Z amps although I have heard good things. The other ones you
mention I have outgrown forever.........

You have a Cool Name "Odin", I mean that is totally cool, I
suggest to you, that when you sign your name.... Don't feel like attaching a
brand name to your life is gonna make people think any more or less of you. I'm 52 and I have tatoos, for that I am not sorry,
however I wish I could remove
the one on my arm that says Harley Davidson.... Yes I am full of shite, and yes I
am also a right wing opinionated Asshole, But I was really full of shite the day
I got that Tattoo. Be Cool.....

Ed Roman

PS what is RMMG

Amazing Website!

I've been Hot-rodding my own guitars for over
30 years, and you're really telling it like it is.

Often I've noticed fantastic players get
awesome sounds despite the quality of their instruments....rather than because
of the quality!

So it's great to see someone doing things the
right way as a craftsman.

I'd like to see your shop sometime, and was wondering if you do the standard stuff
too? Like set-ups, fret work, etc.

Getting someone who knows what they're doing here in town is difficult. Nope, I never trust the
Bozos at Guitar Center or Mars Music. I usually wind up telling them about the Gear they're trying to
peddle.....instead of the other way around!

I've always told my buddies: "These chain store
employees want to sell you the latest piece of junk to get their commission,
and they couldn't care less about your Sound."

Anyway, your Website looks great, and I plan on turning all my guitar-playing friends onto it for an education in "How things
ought to be done. "Welcome to Las Vegas!

Regards,
Ken Campo

sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 1:37
AM

Subject: Roman Acquisitions

Hello Rich,

Just a quick note to say a heartfelt
"THANKS" for working with me on the Quicksilver Tiger Eye (STUNNING!!!), Baker
Bushwhacker (I'm Truly speechless...), and the Pearlcaster--Best "Strat" I
have ever owned and I have 2 others....

I have to give it a break for just a little
while as I also just bought my first PRS Private Stock (also in Tiger Eye).

Also, please let Ed know that I appreciate
the care and workmanship that went into these wonderful guitars that bear his
name. Jan, my wife loves the Quicksilver Tiger Eye, the Spalted Maple
Bushwhacker as well as the Alembic Tribute the best of all 26 guitars in our
house.

Future considerations will be a Koa BC Rich
Bich and the Jackson Shattered Glass Soloist. If you come across any other
unusual ones, please let me know.

Dave Joseph

I live in Utah, and was visiting my sisters house in Henderson Nevada on
Saturday the 27th, and I decided I'd come into your store. I'd visited the
website many times, and thought that your store looked like my heaven :), so me
and my brother in law thought we'd drop by.

The selection was awesome ( Unlike Guitar Center, where they don't have a
single guitar I'd be interested in purchasing) and there were tons of guitars
I'd love to own.

You showed us around the store a bit, like your shop in the back where you
do some custom work....And I just thought that was awesome, Thanks a bunch

Christian

Subject: Happy customer!

I wanted to drop a line and let you know that the recent guitar > purchase
(Samick Royale ) from you has made me smile indeed! I will be purchasing
one of your upper line (JET or Roman) guitars in the near future, and needed
to fill the void with a decent guitar while waiting to decide exactly what
I want on my custom. I played the same model in a local music store and
was impressed with Samick's quality, but the price was a little high.

When I saw the same guitar on your site for a great price, I gave you a
call. I must say that everyone that I have talked to at your store has
been extremely professional, and most willing to answer questions
(including Ed himself!).

It is refreshing to find an outfit that is as straight forward as you
are In today's marketplace.

The guitar has since arrived, and in perfect playing order. I am
amazed how well that it plays, and couldn't be happier with the price. If
this is your low end guitar, I can't wait to play your high end.

I will most certainly recommend you to all of my friends. You have
earned a loyal customer. I will be contacting Ed soon with my custom
order. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely, now and in the future,

Jim Drake

A PRS LOVER SENDS ME SOME HATE MAIL!

THIS LETTER CAME February 0f
2003

Even though I disagree with Rick Hammer I am
printing it because at least he had the balls to sign his name.

HI MY NAME IS RICK
AND I AM VERY DISAPOINTED WITH THIS COMPARISSON PAGE. I FIND IT VERY
INCORRECT AND REALLY DISSES PRS GUITARS AND THERE WORKERS VERY MUCH. PRS GUITARS
ARE HAND MADE , ALMOST EVERY THINGS IS DONE BY HAND NOT MACHINE LIKE ALL OTHER
CHEAP GUITARS. I OWN TWO PRS GUITARS AND ONE GIBSON, AND THE PRS GUITARS ARE
SOME OF THE BEST SOUNDING GUITARS IN THE WORLD. I WOULD NOT TRADE MINE
ANYDAY FOR A QUICKSILVER BECAUSE THEY DONT EVEN COMPARE TO THE PRS. I DO
NOT MEEN TO BE A JERK ABOUT THIS IN ANYWAY BUT THEY ARE NOT EVEN GOOD LOOKING
GUITARS ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO THE PRS GUITARS. WHEN I SEE PROFESSIONALS PLAY I
NEVER SEE ANY QUICKSILVER I SEE LOTS AND LOTS OF PRS GUITARS. THE
INFORMATION ON THAT PAGE IS ONLY AN OPINION NOT FACTS. THAT IS MISLEADING
TO SOON OWNERS OF A PRS GUITAR AND DOESNT HELP PRS OUT IN ANYWAY AND THEY
DONT
DISERVE TO LOOSE BUISNESS BECAUSE OF AN OPINION. THOSE WORKERS THERE ARE VERY
HARD WORKERS AND DISERVE MORE CREDIT THEN ANY GUITAR BUILDERS IN THE BUISNESS OF
MAKING GUITARS. ALMOST ALL OF THAT INFO IS INCORRECT ABOUT THE PRS ,
PLEASE LOOK MORE INTO IT BEFORE YOU PUT IS DOWN THE USE MANY MATERIALS IN
INLAYS, PICKUPS , AND THEY DO BIND THE HEADSTOCK ON ABOUT 5 MODELS.

PLEASE EMAIL ME BACK PLEASE AND THANKS.

RICK HAMMER

Dear Rick

I read your letter and I am sorry that you don't agree with or believe what I
say. I can assure you I check all my facts. I can assure you that PRS
would sue me if I lied or stated any blatant untruths.

Here are my answers to your comments...

1. Your first sentence has two misspellings "disapointed" should be
disappointed and "comparisson" should be comparison. there is no comma after the
HI greeting and I will comment that you are entitled to your opinion.

2. In your second sentence you only make one spelling mistake but your
grammatical composition needs some serious attention. You state that "YOU FIND
IT VERY INCORRECT" Believe me I am 100% correct
(I counted 12 incorrect spellings in your letter).

3. In your third sentence you state that "PRS GUITARS ARE HAND MADE"
You couldn't be more wrong! In
fact PRS guitars are completely and totally made on machinery. even the sanding
operations are done by machine. I can't think of any other company that performs
as much of their work on CNC machines as PRS. If you don't believe me I suggest
you call the PRS factory and ask them outright if their guitars are hand made or
machine made.

4. I am not going to break your entire letter down because time does not
permit it, And I don't mean to sound like a wise ass in correcting your
spelling, punctuation and grammar but you are obviously either 13 years old or
very poorly educated. There is nothing wrong with being 13, and there is nothing
wrong with being uneducated. In fact I myself was 13 once and I am also a
"Voluntary Educational Non Participant" (Fancy for Dropout). But when you
write a letter like yours and make statements that are so completely wrong
coupled with the fact that your spelling and grammatical correctness is very
immature you further enhance my position on programming and brainwashing. I
certainly am not an expert in punctuation and grammar but I think about what I
write and I don't ramble off statements like yours regarding opinions not facts
and the fact that PRS workers work hard and deserve more. Hey this is
turning into a run on sentence ha ha....

5. I looked at PRS's new 2003 catalog recently. It actually shows
pictures of people working on guitars by hand.
THAT IS TOTAL BULL$HIT. those pictures are posed. contrived and
totally misleading.

PRS sends their inlay work out to Pearlworks, I am sure that they are doing
almost no hard carving except on an occasional private stock model. I have
nothing against any one who works at PRS, I am sure they are all nice people,
even the ones that come into my store to spy on me. You make a statement to the
effect that PRS workers don't deserve to be dissed, You state they are hard
workers. You are coming out in defense of PRS and for this I admire your
tenacity. However you are wrong, your facts are wrong, your information
gathering is suffering from not enough questions being asked of the right
people.

PRS workers probably work very hard, but they do as management tells them,
They have little or no control over how the guitar is designed, built,
advertised or sounds. They go about their day as any worker probably does. They
do what they are told and probably do the best they can with whatever they have
to work with. At 5:00 when the whistle blows they go home and that's probably
that. In the old days I'll bet they worked late, I bet they cared much
more about what the guitars were going to play and sound like than they do
today.

The last thing I will address is your apparent distaste for the my
Quicksilver Guitars. By the way, the Quicksilver was inspired totally by
the pre 1995 PRS. I used the pre 1995 PRS as a benchmark in designing the
Quicksilver. I'm not ashamed to say that I learned a great deal about guitar
building from Paul Reed Smith, and some of his earlier employees. I am willing
to bet $100.00 that you have never played a Quicksilver, I'll bet you probably
have never even seen one close up.

You of course are entitled to your opinion and you are completely entitled to
hate me and hate my guitars and hate the ground I walk on. That's what so great
about this country. We can still hate people publicly and not have to worry
about getting shot for it. Just remember everyone including me is entitled to
the same privileges.

I don't hate you, I just hate that you really don't have your facts
together, and you really should spend at least a few minutes to check what you
say. In your Post Script you say that " You don't
mean to be a jerk about this and that you love my selection".
Why don't you buy a PRS from me, I absolutely guarantee the best price on any
2003 PRS model that you will get from any dealer anywhere!

Sincerely,

Ed Roman

Rick's Post Script "PS" below
P.S. I DO NOT MEEN TO BE A JERK ABOUT THIS AND I DO LOVE YOU SELECTION OF PRS
AND GIBSON! ROCK ON

RICK

note from EdWhy am I not surprised that Rick Hammer also likes Gibson Guitars?

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for my recent
Pearlcaster purchase. I have only had it for a few days and it has already
exceeded my expectations! I have owned a couple of Fenders in the past and I
got rid of both of them. They just were not all that great. But my
Pearlcaster is a keeper!

The fit and finish is excellent. Jeff Terwilleger's Caribbean
Burst Finish is nothing short of a work of art. The bird's eye maple neck
and fretboard are also eye catchers. I have left it sitting in a stand
several times so that I could sit and look at all the cosmetic touches. Wow!

But let's not forget the most important part: How does it play
and sound? "Wow" again. I was thinking about switching to mini humbuckers
until I heard the Duncan single coils; I'm glad I stuck with the single
coils. My Pearlcaster has, by far, the broadest tonal palate of any of the
guitars I own. Regardless of which position the 5 way blade is in, or where
the volume and tone knobs are; the tonal palate stays extremely well
balanced. I have read a few reviews online of Pearlcasters. They alleged
that Pearlcasters had a thin sound and fell short of the classic
Stratocaster sound. Well, there is nothing thin about sound of my
Pearlcaster! It certainly does not fall short of the Strat sound; it meets
and exceeds what a Fender is capable of delivering. I would describe a
Pearlcaster as a 'Stratocaster on Steroids'!! (And that's without active
circuitry.) Your method of direct coupling the neck to body makes a huge
difference. Your bolt on neck method is probably much of the reason
Pearlcasters sound the way they do.

The Pearlcaster's playability is fantastic! The action is
light, quick and responsive. The worth or value of the raw, 2200g neck
cannot be overstated. One really needs to play a guitar with one of your
custom necks to fully appreciate the difference between your necks and the cookie
cutter necks on most other guitars. The fretboard is also excellent. All
things considered, my Pearlcaster has quickest action of any guitar I own.
(I think it has improved my playing. It has definitely has made me faster
guitar player.)

I really enjoyed my tour of your facility on my recent visit to
Las Vegas. After seeing your small, private showroom Guitar Center and other
Music stores are laughable! (The small office downstairs has more variety in
stock than Guitar Center.) I would also like to thank Bob for showing me how
to fine tune the setup on my guitar (learning how to fine finish fretwires
was invaluable). Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're supposed come that way! My guitar
was not completely set up and I like to do my own work as much as I can. The
result being: A custom fit!